Alexander Cumming was a Scottish watchmaker, mathematician and instrument inventor, born in Edinburgh in 1733 and died in 1814. He was the first person to patent a design for the flush toilet, in 1775, improving on the earlier design of Sir John Harington. His version improved the flush mechanism and added an S-trap, a bend in the waste pipe that keeps water standing in it and blocks sewer gases from entering a building; most modern flush toilets still use a similar trap. Earlier he worked for the Duke of Argyll at Inveraray as an organ builder and clockmaker, and later opened premises in Bond Street in London, where he made barometrical clocks, including one for King George III. In 1763 he was named to the commission that judged John Harrison timekeeper for finding longitude at sea. He also wrote books on watch and clock work, on the effect of carriage wheel rims on roads, and on gravity.
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Source Alexander Cumming (source article)Early lifeQuote, Early life
He was born in Edinburgh in 1733
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1. Alexander Cumming (source article)
Early life
He was born in Edinburgh in 1733
Lead sentence
8 March 1814
In Field: Mechanical Engineering, Lead sentence [in-field]
a Scottish watchmaker and instrument inventor
Associated With: Flush Toilet, Lead sentence [associated-with]
first to patent a design of the flush toilet in 1775
View the Source2. Alexander Cumming (Wikipedia)
Introduction
Alexander Cumming FRSE (sometimes referred to as Alexander Cummings; 1733-8 March 1814) was a Scottish watchmaker and instrument inventor, who was the first to patent a design of the flush toilet in 1775, which had been pioneered by Sir John Harington, but without solving the problem of foul smells.
In Group: Building Services Inventors, Lead section
Alexander Cumming FRSE (sometimes referred to as Alexander Cummings; 1733-8 March 1814) was a Scottish watchmaker and instrument inventor, who was the first to patent a design of the flush toilet in 1775, which had been pioneered by Sir John Harington, but without solving the problem of foul smells.
Invented: Toilet, Article text
Alexander Cumming FRSE (sometimes referred to as Alexander Cummings; 1733-8 March 1814) was a Scottish watchmaker and instrument inventor, who was the first to patent a design of the flush toilet in 1775, which had been pioneered by Sir John Harington, but without solving the problem of foul smells.
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