Was the toilet invented by Thomas Crapper?

Answer 1

No. And what toilet do you mean? Pits? They were "invented" as far as stone age.
Or do you mean a flash toilet? Flash toilets, again, were known as far as 2.600 B.C. -in ancient India, ancient Crete civilization, Romans. Elizabeth I had a flush toilet.
The structure and the system was known well before him. He popularized it, and he improved it (had a patient on floating ballcock and other minor improvements).
Actually, the flushing toilet has been around for so long, that it's hard to tell who invented it first.
As for his name, "crap" in the old English meant "cast offs", the "left overs of something" (dregs of beer). The word itself "traveled" to the US colonies, and is registered in use since 16 century with the meaning "defecate". In England the word dropped out of common use.
So, the name of the Thomas Crapper and the word are considered to be a coincidence, and it's widely believed, due to this coincidence, that he was an inventor of the flush toilet.

Answer 2

No, Thomas Crapper was a very successful plumber. The Thomas Crapper Company began in the middle of the 1800's about a decade after the British health act requiring a toilet in a home. The toilet was invented during the Roman Empire.

Answer 3

Nope...... he didn't invent anything. Thomas Crapper's plumbing company built flush toilets of Albert Giblin's DESIGN........ and that's all there was to it. *Flush toilets* are much older than the 1880's........

There are remains of flushing toilets, both private and communal, from several ancient civilizations around the world, dating from 2600 BC onwards.
Circa 26th century BC: flush toilets were first used in the Indus Valley Civilization now part of Pakistan. 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.

In 1819: Albert Giblin received British patent 4990 for the "Silent Valveless Water Waste Preventer", a siphon discharge system.

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 popularized 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.

Answer 4

No some In the Indus Valley civilization (c.2,600-1,900 BC) streets were built on a grid pattern and networks of sewers were dug under them. Toilets were flushed with water. Sir John Harington (also spelled Harrington) (4 August 1561 – 20 November 1612), of Kelston, was an English courtier, author and master of art, popularly known as the inventor of the flush toilet. He became a prominent member of Queen Elizabeth I's court, crapper came up with a new way of Flushing

Answer 5

I know it sounds like a joke but it's true - Thomas Crapper invented the modern toilet. No doubt 'crap' comes from his name, not the other way around.

Answer 6

Althought the story of Thomas Crapper has been around for ages giving him credit for either inventing the toilet or the wonderful euphemism of "crap" for our bowel movements, both actually existed before him. However, he did make contributions to the flush toilet, which may have led to the association of his name with either. I provided a "Straight Dope" link below that discusses this in far greater detail.

Answer 7

Thomas Crapper designed the first flushing system in Europe. But it is known that the Chinese had a form of flushing system centuries before.

Answer 8

The flushing water closet was most certainly invented by Thomas Crapper. The earth closet was not.

Answer 9

No the Chinese had this little invention long before Mr Crapper.

Answer 10

No it was not, but it makes for a funny story. Alexander Cummings gets the most credit for it, but his was a remake of a 1596 model made by John Harrington.