History of the Flush Toilet

There is disagreement over who was the inventor of the modern flush toilet, and flushing out the truth is not easy. Many give credit to THOMAS CRAPPER ( 1837-1910 ), an English sanitary engineer, for inventing the valve~and~siphon arrangement that made our modern toilet possible. Then there are others who maintain that our hero was a nameless MINOAN ( a native of ancient Crete ) who lived some 4,000 years ago. And then there are those who give the credit to ALEXANDER CUMMING who patented a flushing device in 1775. But we also have Sir JOHN HARRINGTON who published a pamphlet in the 16th Century called the "Metamorphosis of Ajax" ( the title is a pun..."jakes" was a common term for privy ) with the full instructions for the construction of a valve closet. Still later GEORGE JENNINGS in the 18th Century made contributions that were considered the ultimate in plumbing mechanisms.

For those readers interested in such matters, the contributions THOMAS CRAPPER made to modern civilization, whether true or not, are immortalized in Wallace Reyburn's book, FLUSHED WITH PRIDE, The Story of Thomas Crapper.

Thomas Crapper's name is inevitably linked with the toilet. "T. Crapper Brass & Co., Ld." was emblazoned on toilets all over England. It was the American soldiers stationed in England during World War I who returned to the U.S. using his name as a euphemism for the toilet. Crapper died in 1910 at the age of 73, although his company lived on-105 years in business.

No matter to whom you give the credit, you can't help but appreciate the importance of their contributions to mankind when you consider the alternatives. Reading any of the various accounts of plumbing history should convince everyone that the plumbing industry does not receive near enough credit for the significant contributions it has made to make out lives more safe and comfortable.