Thomas Crapper

Thomas Crapper
Born	Baptised 28 September 1836 Waterside, Thorne, Yorkshire, England
Died	27 January 1910(1910-01-27) (aged 73) Anerley, Bromley, England
Occupation	Industrialist, plumber
Spouse	Maria Green (1837–1902)[1]
Parents	Charles Crapper (father)

Thomas Crapper (baptised 28 September 1836; died 27 January 1910) was a plumber who founded Thomas Crapper & Co. in London. Contrary to widespread misconceptions, Crapper did not invent the flush toilet. He did, however, do much to increase the popularity of the toilet, and developed some important related inventions, such as the ballcock. He was noted for the quality of his products and received several Royal Warrants.

The manhole covers with Crapper's company's name on them in Westminster Abbey are now a minor tourist attraction.^[2][3]

Company

Crapper was born in Thorne, Yorkshire, in 1836; the exact date is unknown, but he was baptised on 28 September 1836. His father, Charles, was a sailor. In 1853 he was apprenticed to his brother George, who was a master plumber in Chelsea. After his apprenticeship and three years as a journeyman plumber, in 1861 Crapper set himself up as a sanitary engineer, with his own brass foundry and workshops in nearby Marlborough Road.^[1]

The flushing toilet was invented by John Harrington in 1596. Joseph Bramah of Yorkshire patented the first practical water closet in England in 1778. George Jennings in 1852 also took out a patent for the flush-out toilet.^[4][5] In a time when bathroom fixtures were barely spoken of, Crapper heavily promoted sanitary plumbing and pioneered the concept of the bathroom fittings showroom.^{[citation needed]}

Thomas Crapper Branding on one of his company's toilets

In the 1880s, Prince Edward (later Edward VII) purchased his country seat of Sandringham House in Norfolk and asked Thomas Crapper & Co. to supply the plumbing, including thirty lavatories with cedarwood seats and enclosures, thus giving Crapper his first Royal Warrant. The firm received further warrants from Edward as king and from George V both as Prince of Wales and as king.

In 1904, Crapper retired, passing the firm to his nephew George and his business partner Robert Marr Wharam. Crapper lived at 12 Thornsett Road, Anerley, for the last thirteen years of his life and died on 27 January 1910. He was buried in the nearby Elmers End Cemetery.^[1]

In 1966 the company was sold by then owner Robert G. Wharam (son of Robert Marr Wharam) on his retirement, to their rivals John Bolding & Sons. Bolding went into liquidation in 1969. The company fell out of use until it was acquired by Simon Kirby, a historian and collector of antique bathroom fittings, who relaunched the company in Stratford-upon-Avon, producing authentic reproductions of Crapper's original Victorian bathroom fittings.^[6]

Siphonic flush toilet

Crapper's Valveless Waste Preventer

Crapper held nine patents, three of them for water closet improvements such as the floating ballcock, but none was for the flush toilet itself.^{[citation needed]} Thomas Crapper's advertisements implied the siphonic flush was his invention; one having the text "Crapper's Valveless Water Waste Preventer (Patent #4,990) One movable part only", but patent 4990 (for a minor improvement to the water waste preventer) was not his, but that of Albert Giblin in 1898.^[7] Crapper's nephew, George, did improve the siphon mechanism by which the water flow is started. A patent for this development was awarded in 1898.^{[citation needed]}

Origin of the word "crap"

It has often been claimed in popular culture that the slang term for human bodily waste, "crap", originated with Thomas Crapper because of his association with lavatories. The most common version of this story is that American servicemen stationed in England during World War I saw his name on cisterns and used it as army slang, i.e., "I'm going to the crapper".^[8]

The word crap is actually of Middle English origin; and hence predates its application to bodily waste. Its first application to bodily waste, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, appeared in 1846 under a reference to a crapping ken, or a privy, where ken means a house.^[8]

Its most likely etymological origin is a combination of two older words, the Dutch krappen: to pluck off, cut off, or separate; and the Old French crappe: siftings, waste or rejected matter (from the medieval Latin crappa, chaff).^[8]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} McConnell, Anita (2004), "Crapper, Thomas (1837–1910)", Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/55389, retrieved 2008-11-10 
2. ^ Goddard, Donald (26 May 1985). "Group Walks Gain Ground in London". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B05E6DB1639F935A15756C0A963948260&sec=travel&spon=&pagewanted=2. Retrieved 2 March 2009. 
3. ^ "Thomas Crapper history, Westminster Abbey, Sandringham &c.". Thomas Crapper & Co.. 24 January 2004. http://www.thomas-crapper.com/history02.asp. Retrieved 2 February 2009. 
4. ^ Krinsky, William L. (1999-03-02). "Of Facts and Artifacts". New York Times Editorial. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE4D7103CF931A35750C0A96F958260. Retrieved 2009-03-02. 
5. ^ Wilson, Blake (2008-12-16). "Tom the Plumber". New York Times – Paper Cuts. http://papercuts.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/16/tom-the-plumber/. Retrieved 2009-03-02. 
6. ^ Hume, Robert Thomas Crapper: Lavatory Legend (illus. Cheryl Ives), Stone Publishing House 2009 ISBN 978-0-9549909-3-0; BBC History Magazine Jan. 2010
7. ^ Hart-Davis, Adam, Thomas Crapper – Fact and Fiction, ExNet, http://www.exnet.com/1995/11/01/science/science.html, retrieved 13 May 2010 
8. ^ ^{a b c} World Wide Words

Further reading

• Hart-Davis, Adam (1997), Thunder, Flush and Thomas Crapper: An Encyclopedia, Michael O'Mara Books, ISBN 1854792504 
• Reyburn, Wallace (2010), Flushed With Pride: The Story of Thomas Crapper, Polperro Heritage Press, ISBN 978-0955954153 

External links

• Thomas Crapper: Myth & Reality (Plumbing & Mechanical, June 1993)
• Thomas Crapper ; Fact & Fiction (Adam Hart-Davis)
• Flushed With Pride ; The Story of Thomas Crapper (Outhouses of America Tour) — with a letter from Simon Kirby of Thomas Crapper & Co. Ltd.
• Crap (Online Etymology Dictionary)
• Thomas Crapper (Snopes Urban Legends Reference Pages)
• Thomas Crapper & Co. Ltd. ; – The plumbing company founded by Thomas Crapper

Persondata
Name	Crapper, Thomas
Alternative names
Short description	industrialist, plumber
Date of birth	Baptised 28 September 1836
Place of birth	Waterside, Thorne, Yorkshire, England
Date of death	27 January 1910 (aged 73)
Place of death	Anerley, Bromley, England, United Kingdom