The Early History of Plumbing

The Early History of plumbing

2500 B.C. - The Egyptians are adapt at drainage construction, accentuated by the significance, that water plays in their priestly rituals of purification and those affecting the burial of the pharaohs. 

1760 B.C. - King Hammurabi of Babylon personally directs provincial governors, to dig and dredge the canals on a continuing basis and to prevent the neglect of those canals. 

1700 B.C. - The Minoan place of Knossos, on the island of Crete, features four separate drainage systems, that empty into the great sewers constructed of stone. 

800 B.C. - The first sewers of Rome, are built and called the Cloaca Maxima. 

705 B.C. - The Assyrian king Sennacherib develops a 10 mile long canal, in three stages, including 18 fresh water courses, from the mountains, two dams, water diversions and a chain of canals

312 B.C. - Aqueducts, which supply water to Roman baths, are first built. 

4th Century A.D. - Rome has 112 public baths, 1,352 public fountains and cisterns, and 856 private baths.

1596 A.D. - Sir John Harrington invents new "washout" closet, similar to the drainage principle on the isle of Crete. 

1738 A.D. - J. F. Brondel introduces the valve-type flush toilet

1775 A.D. - Another Englishman, Alexander Cummings, patents the forerunner of the toilet.

1778 A.D. - Joseph Bramah patents an improved version of Cumming's invention, with two hinged valves. The "Bramah" also becomes the prototype, for closets on boats and ships.

1829 A.D. - The Tremont Hotel, of Boston becomes the first hotel to have indoor plumbing and has eight water closets, designed by Isaiah Rogers.

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1848 A.D. - England passes the National Public Health Act, which becomes a model plumbing code, for the world, to follow. 

1857 A.D. - The first packaged toilet paper is invented by American Joseph Gayetty and called Gayetty's Medicated Paper

1858 A.D. - George Jennings popularizes public lavatories. 

1870 A.D. - Thomas Twyford comes up with an improved version of the Bramah, which contains no metal parts and is created with the revolutionary design of a one-piece toilet.