Thomas Crapper | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Thorne, Yorkshire, England |
| Baptised | 28 September 1836 |
| Died | 27 January 1910 (aged 73) |
| Occupation(s) | Plumber, businessman |
| Spouse |
Maria Green
(m. 1837; died 1902) |
Thomas Crapper (baptised 28 September 1836; died 27 January 1910) was an English plumber and businessman. He founded Thomas Crapper & Co in London, a plumbing equipment company. His notability with regard to toilets has often been overstated, mostly due to the publication in 1969 of a fictional biography by New Zealand satirist Wallace Reyburn.[2]
Crapper held nine patents, three of them for water closet improvements such as the floating ballcock. He improved the S-bend plumbing trap in 1880 by inventing the U-bend. The firm's lavatorial equipment was manufactured at premises in nearby Marlborough Road (now Draycott Avenue). The company owned the world's first bath, toilet and sink showroom in King's Road. Crapper was noted for the quality of his products and received several royal warrants.
Manhole covers with Crapper's company's name on them in Westminster Abbey have become one of London's minor tourist attractions.[3][4]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
odnbwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Eschner, Kat (28 September 2017). "Three True Things About Sanitary Engineer Thomas Crapper". Smithsonian. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- ^ Goddard, Donald (26 May 1985), "Group Walks Gain Ground in London", The New York Times, archived from the original on 25 January 2022, retrieved 2 March 2009
- ^ Thomas Crapper history, Westminster Abbey, Sandringham, Thomas Crapper & Co., 24 January 2004, archived from the original on 11 December 2008, retrieved 2 February 2009