Old page wikitext, before the edit (old_wikitext ) | '{{pp-move-indef}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Thomas Crapper
| image = Thomas Crapper.jpg
| image_size =
| birth_date = Baptised 28 September 1836
| birth_place = Waterside, [[Thorne, South Yorkshire|Thorne]], Yorkshire, England
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=y|1910|1|27|1836|9|28}}
| death_place = [[Anerley]], [[London Borough of Bromley|Bromley]], England
| education =
| occupation = [[Industrialist]], [[plumber]]
| spouse = Maria Green (1837–1902)<ref name="odnb"/>
| 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 [[List of common misconceptions|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 warrant of appointment|royal warrant]]s.
[[Manhole cover]]s with Crapper's company's name on them in [[Westminster Abbey]] are now one of London's minor [[tourist attraction]]s.<ref>{{citation |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B05E6DB1639F935A15756C0A963948260&sec=travel&spon=&pagewanted=2 |title=Group Walks Gain Ground in London |last=Goddard |first=Donald |date=26 May 1985 |newspaper=New York Times |accessdate=2 March 2009}}</ref><ref name="Crapper History">{{citation |url=http://www.thomas-crapper.com/history02.asp |title=Thomas Crapper history, Westminster Abbey, Sandringham &c. |date=24 January 2004| publisher=Thomas Crapper & Co. |accessdate=2 February 2009}}</ref> Thomas Crapper & Co owned the world's first bath, toilet and sink showroom, in [[King's Road]] until 1966. The firm's lavatorial equipment was manufactured at premises in nearby Marlborough Road (now Draycott Avenue).
==Company==
Crapper was born in [[Thorne, South Yorkshire|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, London|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.<ref name="odnb">{{citation |last=McConnell |first=Anita |contribution=Crapper, Thomas (1837–1910) |title=Dictionary of National Biography |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2004 |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/55389 |accessdate=10 November 2008}}</ref>
The [[Flush_toilet#History|flushing toilet was invented]] by [[John Harington (writer)|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.<ref name="NYTimes Krinsky">{{citation |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE4D7103CF931A35750C0A96F958260 |title=Of Facts and Artifacts |last=Krinsky |first=William L. |date=2 March 1999 |newspaper=New York Times |accessdate=2 March 2009}}</ref><ref name="NYTimes Wilson">{{citation |url=http://papercuts.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/16/tom-the-plumber/ |title=Tom the Plumber |last=Wilson |first=Blake |date=16 December 2008 |newspaper=New York Times |accessdate=2 March 2009}}</ref> In a time when bathroom fixtures were barely spoken of, Crapper heavily promoted [[sanitation|sanitary plumbing]] and pioneered the concept of the bathroom fittings showroom.{{Citation needed|date=November 2008}}
[[File:Thomas Crapper Toilet Horta Museum Branding.jpg|thumb|Thomas Crapper Branding on one of his company's toilets]]
In the 1880s, Prince Edward (later [[Edward VII of the United Kingdom|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 of the United Kingdom|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 six years of his life and died on 27 January 1910. He was buried in the nearby [[Beckenham Crematorium and Cemetery|Elmers End Cemetery]].<ref name=odnb/>
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.<ref>{{citation |last=Hume |first=Robert |title=Thomas Crapper: Lavatory Legend |date=January 2010 |publisher=Stone Publishing House 2009 |magazine=BBC History Magazine |isbn=978-0-9549909-3-0}}</ref>
==Siphonic flush toilet==
[[File:Crapper's Valveless Waste Preventer.jpg|thumb|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|date=November 2008}} 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.<ref>{{citation |last=Hart-Davis |first=Adam |title=Thomas Crapper – Fact and Fiction |url=http://www.exnet.com/1995/11/01/science/science.html |publisher=ExNet |accessdate=13 May 2010}}</ref> 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|date=November 2008}}
==Origin of the word "crap"==
It has often been claimed in popular culture that the slang term for human [[feces|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".<ref name="World Wide Words">{{citation |url=http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-cra1.htm |title=World Wide Words}}</ref>
The word ''[[wiktionary:crap|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.<ref name="World Wide Words"/>
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).<ref name="World Wide Words"/>
==References==
{{reflist|30em}}
==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book |last=Hart-Davis |first=Adam |authorlink=Adam Hart-Davis |title=Thunder, Flush and Thomas Crapper: An Encyclopedia |publisher=Michael O'Mara Books |year=1997 |isbn=1-85479-250-4}}
*{{cite book |last=Reyburn |first=Wallace |title=Flushed With Pride: The Story of Thomas Crapper |year=2010 |publisher=Polperro Heritage Press |isbn=978-0-9559541-5-3}}
{{refend}}
==External links==
{{Commons category|Thomas Crapper}}
{{Wiktionary|crap}}
*[http://www.snopes.com/business/names/crapper.asp Thomas Crapper] at Snopes.com
*[http://www.thomas-crapper.com/ Thomas Crapper & Co. Ltd.] - the plumbing company founded by Thomas Crapper
{{Authority control|VIAF=51564954}}
<!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]] -->
{{Persondata
|NAME= Crapper, Thomas
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
|SHORT DESCRIPTION= [[industrialist]], [[plumber]]
|DATE OF BIRTH= Baptised 28 September 1836
|PLACE OF BIRTH= Waterside, [[Thorne, South Yorkshire|Thorne]], [[Yorkshire]], England
|DATE OF DEATH= 27 January 1910 (aged 73)
|PLACE OF DEATH= [[Anerley]], [[London Borough of Bromley|Bromley]], England, United Kingdom
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crapper, Thomas}}
[[Category:1836 births]]
[[Category:1910 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Thorne, South Yorkshire]]
[[Category:British plumbers]]
[[Category:Toilets]]
[[af:Thomas Crapper]]
[[gl:Thomas Crapper]]
[[pl:Thomas Crapper]]
[[ru:Крэппер, Томас]]
[[zh:湯馬斯·克拉普]]' |
New page wikitext, after the edit (new_wikitext ) | '{{pp-move-indef}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Thomas oh yea!
| image = Thomas Crapper.jpg
| image_size =
| birth_date = Baptised 28 September 1836
| birth_place = Waterside, [[Thorne, South Yorkshire|Thorne]], Yorkshire, England
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=y|1910|1|27|1836|9|28}}
| death_place = [[Anerley]], [[London Borough of Bromley|Bromley]], England
| education = Pooping out fire!
| occupation = [[Industrialist]], [[plumber]]
| spouse = Maria Green (1837–1902)<ref name="odnb"/>
| 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 [[List of common misconceptions|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 warrant of appointment|royal warrant]]s.
[[Manhole cover]]s with Crapper's company's name on them in [[Westminster Abbey]] are now one of London's minor [[tourist attraction]]s.<ref>{{citation |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B05E6DB1639F935A15756C0A963948260&sec=travel&spon=&pagewanted=2 |title=Group Walks Gain Ground in London |last=Goddard |first=Donald |date=26 May 1985 |newspaper=New York Times |accessdate=2 March 2009}}</ref><ref name="Crapper History">{{citation |url=http://www.thomas-crapper.com/history02.asp |title=Thomas Crapper history, Westminster Abbey, Sandringham &c. |date=24 January 2004| publisher=Thomas Crapper & Co. |accessdate=2 February 2009}}</ref> Thomas Crapper & Co owned the world's first bath, toilet and sink showroom, in [[King's Road]] until 1966. The firm's lavatorial equipment was manufactured at premises in nearby Marlborough Road (now Draycott Avenue).
==Company==
Crapper was born in [[Thorne, South Yorkshire|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, London|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.<ref name="odnb">{{citation |last=McConnell |first=Anita |contribution=Crapper, Thomas (1837–1910) |title=Dictionary of National Biography |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2004 |url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/55389 |accessdate=10 November 2008}}</ref>
The [[Flush_toilet#History|flushing toilet was invented]] by [[John Harington (writer)|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.<ref name="NYTimes Krinsky">{{citation |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE4D7103CF931A35750C0A96F958260 |title=Of Facts and Artifacts |last=Krinsky |first=William L. |date=2 March 1999 |newspaper=New York Times |accessdate=2 March 2009}}</ref><ref name="NYTimes Wilson">{{citation |url=http://papercuts.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/16/tom-the-plumber/ |title=Tom the Plumber |last=Wilson |first=Blake |date=16 December 2008 |newspaper=New York Times |accessdate=2 March 2009}}</ref> In a time when bathroom fixtures were barely spoken of, Crapper heavily promoted [[sanitation|sanitary plumbing]] and pioneered the concept of the bathroom fittings showroom.{{Citation needed|date=November 2008}}
[[File:Thomas Crapper Toilet Horta Museum Branding.jpg|thumb|Thomas Crapper Branding on one of his company's toilets]]
In the 1880s, Prince Edward (later [[Edward VII of the United Kingdom|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 of the United Kingdom|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 six years of his life and died on 27 January 1910. He was buried in the nearby [[Beckenham Crematorium and Cemetery|Elmers End Cemetery]].<ref name=odnb/>
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.<ref>{{citation |last=Hume |first=Robert |title=Thomas Crapper: Lavatory Legend |date=January 2010 |publisher=Stone Publishing House 2009 |magazine=BBC History Magazine |isbn=978-0-9549909-3-0}}</ref>
==Siphonic flush toilet==
[[File:Crapper's Valveless Waste Preventer.jpg|thumb|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|date=November 2008}} 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.<ref>{{citation |last=Hart-Davis |first=Adam |title=Thomas Crapper – Fact and Fiction |url=http://www.exnet.com/1995/11/01/science/science.html |publisher=ExNet |accessdate=13 May 2010}}</ref> 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|date=November 2008}}
==Origin of the word "crap"==
It has often been claimed in popular culture that the slang term for human [[feces|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".<ref name="World Wide Words">{{citation |url=http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-cra1.htm |title=World Wide Words}}</ref>
The word ''[[wiktionary:crap|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.<ref name="World Wide Words"/>
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).<ref name="World Wide Words"/>
==References==
{{reflist|30em}}
==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book |last=Hart-Davis |first=Adam |authorlink=Adam Hart-Davis |title=Thunder, Flush and Thomas Crapper: An Encyclopedia |publisher=Michael O'Mara Books |year=1997 |isbn=1-85479-250-4}}
*{{cite book |last=Reyburn |first=Wallace |title=Flushed With Pride: The Story of Thomas Crapper |year=2010 |publisher=Polperro Heritage Press |isbn=978-0-9559541-5-3}}
{{refend}}
==External links==
{{Commons category|Thomas Crapper}}
{{Wiktionary|crap}}
*[http://www.snopes.com/business/names/crapper.asp Thomas Crapper] at Snopes.com
*[http://www.thomas-crapper.com/ Thomas Crapper & Co. Ltd.] - the plumbing company founded by Thomas Crapper
{{Authority control|VIAF=51564954}}
<!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]] -->
{{Persondata
|NAME= Crapper, Douche
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
|SHORT DESCRIPTION= [[industrialist]], [[plumber]]
|DATE OF BIRTH= Baptised 28 September 1836
|PLACE OF BIRTH= Waterside, [[Thorne, South Yorkshire|Thorne]], [[Yorkshire]], England
|DATE OF DEATH= 27 January 1910 (aged 73)
|PLACE OF DEATH= [[Anerley]], [[London Borough of Bromley|Bromley]], England, United Kingdom
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crapper, Thomas}}
[[Category:1836 births]]
[[Category:1910 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Thorne, South Yorkshire]]
[[Category:British plumbers]]
[[Category:Toilets]]
[[af:Thomas Crapper]]
[[gl:Thomas Crapper]]
[[pl:Thomas Crapper]]
[[ru:Крэппер, Томас]]
[[zh:湯馬斯·克拉普]]' |