Evolution of Toilet
Toilet did not suddenly spring into existence, but was the result of a long chain of minor improvements. Therefore, instead of a single name and date, there follows a list of significant contributors to the history of the device.
Ancient world: there are remains of flushing toilets, both private and communal, from several ancient civilisations around the world, dating from 2600 BC onwards.
Circa 26th century BC: flush toilets were first used in the Indus Valley Civilization. The cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro had a flush toilet in almost every house, attached to a sophisticated sewage system.
Circa 15th century BC: flushing toilets were found in the remains of the Minoan city of Akrotiri.
Roman Empire: some examples include those at Hadrian’s Wall in Britain. With the fall of the Roman empire, the technology was lost.
1596: Sir John Harrington is said to have invented ‘The Ajax’, a flush toilet, for Elizabeth I of England. His design was ridiculed in England, but was adopted in France under the name Angrez. The design had a flush valve to let water out of the tank, and a wash-down design to empty the bowl.
1738: a valve-type flush toilet was invented by JF Brondel.
1775: Alexander Cummings invented the S-trap (British patent no. 814?), still used today, that used standing water to seal the outlet of the bowl, preventing the escape of foul air from the sewer. His design had a sliding valve in the bowl outlet above the trap.
1777: Samuel Prosser invented and patented the ‘plunger closet’.
1778: Joseph Bramah invented a hinged valve or ‘crank valve’ that sealed the bottom of the bowl, and a float valve system for the flush tank. His design was used mainly on boats.
1819: Albert Giblin received British patent 4990 for the “Silent Valveless Water Waste Preventer”, a siphon discharge system.
1852: J. G. Jennings invented a wash-out design with a shallow pan emptying into an S-trap.
1857: the first American patent for a toilet, the ‘plunger closet’, was granted.
1860: The first watercloset was installed on the European continent and was imported from England. It has been installed in the rooms of Queen Victoria in castle Ehrenburg (Coburg, Germany) and she was the only one who was allowed to use it.
1880s: Thomas Crapper’s plumbing company built flush toilets of Giblin’s design. After the company received a royal warrant, Crapper’s name became synonymous with flush toilets. Although he was not the original inventor, Crapper popularised the siphon system for emptying the tank, replacing the earlier floating valve system which was prone to leaks. Some of Crapper’s designs were made by Thomas Twyford. The similarity between Crapper’s name and the much older word crap is merely a coincidence.
1885: Thomas Twyford built the first one-piece china toilet using the flush-out siphon design by J. G. Jennings.
1886: an early jet flush toilet was manufactured by the Beaufort Works in Chelsea, England.
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NOW see this! A Toilet themed restaurant in Taiwan!
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July 5th, 2008 at 2:38 am