John Harington

Sir John Harington (also Harrington ; born August 4, 1561 in Kelston , Somerset , England , † November 20, 1612 ibid) was an English poet. He published some of his works under the pseudonym Misacmos .

Life

John Harington was best known for inventing the water closet on behalf of Queen Elizabeth I in 1596. The first such toilet was in his estate in Kelston, Somerset. However, Harington's invention was considered a bad joke by his compatriots. Despite a book with the exact building instructions for his invention, almost nobody was interested and it was initially forgotten. It was not until 1775 that the Scottish inventor Alexander Cumming received the patent for a water closet.

In 1599 he was promoted to Knight Bachelor and 1605 to Knight of the Bath .

Others

Sir John Harington is an ancestor of Kit Harington , who portrayed Jon Snow in the Game of Thrones series .

Fonts

Misacmos (Sir John Harington): A New Discourse of a Stale Subject, called the Metamorphosis of Ajax. printed by Richard Field, London 1596.

literature

Jason Scott-Warren: Harington, Sir John (bap. 1560, d. 1612). In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2004-2007. ( Entry in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography )

Web links

Literature by and about John Harington in the catalog of the German National Library
John Harington on tudorplace.com.ar
Biography in the Notable Names Database

Notes and individual references

↑ In other sources, the year of birth 1560 is given.
^ William Arthur Shaw: The Knights of England. Volume 2, Sherratt and Hughes, London 1906, p. 97.
^ William Arthur Shaw: The Knights of England. Volume 1, Sherratt and Hughes, London 1906, p. 157.
↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0R9gIAT9Nc ( Memento from February 20, 2014 in the Internet Archive )

personal data
SURNAME	Harington, John
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Harrington, John; Misacmos (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	English poet
DATE OF BIRTH	4th August 1561
PLACE OF BIRTH	Kelston , Somerset , England
DATE OF DEATH	November 20, 1612
Place of death	Kelston , Somerset , England

[1] In other sources, the year of birth 1560 is given.

[2] William Arthur Shaw: The Knights of England. Volume 2, Sherratt and Hughes, London 1906, p. 97.

[3] William Arthur Shaw: The Knights of England. Volume 1, Sherratt and Hughes, London 1906, p. 157.

[4] ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0R9gIAT9Nc ( Memento from February 20, 2014 in the Internet Archive )