At the center of of every modern bathroom is the flush toilet. But it wasn't always this way. Primitive latrines used a constant stream of water to carry away waste. This dates back over 5,000 years ago. Privative toilet systems were used by the several different ancient civilizations, including the Romans, the Mohenjo-Dara and Harappa of the Indus Valley.
The first modern, flushable toilet, was described in 1596 by Sir John Harington. He was an English courtier (a person who attends a royal court as a companion or adviser to the king or queen) and the godson of Queen Elizabeth I. Sir John Harington’s new invention called for a 2-foot-deep oval bowl waterproofed with pitch, resin and wax and fed by water from an upstairs cistern. Flushing Harington’s pot required 7.5 gallons of water. Sir John noted that when water was scarce, up to 20 people could use his commode between flushes. Back then it truly paid to be the first to use the bathroom!
Sir John Harington first installed a working model for Queen Elizabeth at Richmond Palace. This clever invention took several centuries for the flush toilet to catch on.
To view a detailed description of Sir John Harington's invention - click here!
In 1775 Scottish inventor Alexander Cumming was granted the first patent for a flush toilet. His greatest innovation was the S-shaped pipe below the bowl that used water to create a seal preventing sewer gas from entering through the toilet.
In the late-19th century, a London plumbing impresario named Thomas Crapper manufactured one of the first widely successful lines of flush toilets. Crapper did not invent the toilet, but he did develop the ballcock, an improved tank-filling mechanism still used in toilets today.
Crapper’s name became synonymous with the devices he sold thanks in part to American servicemen who were stationed overseas in Europe during World War I. The American soldiers, unfamiliar with the relatively new-fangled invention, referred to the toilets as “crappers” because the Crapper brand’s ubiquity in England and France.
We at Best Plumbers hope you have enjoyed this plumbing blog article about the history of the toilet and Sir John Harington's valuable contribution to humanity. If you are in search of a really good plumber in your local market we strongly encourage you to visit our plumbing directory.