John Harington (writer)
Sir John Harington (4 August 1560 – 20 November 1612), of Kelston, Somerset, England, but born in London, was an English courtier, author and translator popularly known as the inventor of the flush toilet.[1] He became prominent at Queen Elizabeth I's court, and was known as her "saucy Godson", but his poetry and other writings caused him to fall in and out of favour with the Queen. He was the author of the description of a flush-toilet forerunner installed in his Kelston house appears in A New Discourse of a Stale Subject, called the Metamorphosis of Ajax (1596), a political allegory and coded attack on the monarchy, which is nowadays his best-known work.
For other people with similar names, see John Harrington (disambiguation).
Sir John Harington
4 August 1560
20 November 1612 (aged 52)
- author
- translator
- inventor
Modern flush toilet
Mary Rogers
- John Harington (b.c.1529) (father)
- Isabella Markham (mother)
Courtier under James I[edit]
After the Queen's death, Harington's fortunes faltered at the court of the new King, James I. He had stood surety for his cousin Sir Griffin Markham's debts of £4000, when Markham had become involved in the Bye and Main Plots. Not able to meet his cousin's debts without selling his own lands, and unwilling to languish in gaol, he escaped from custody in October 1603. However, James I had already recognised his loyalty and granted him the properties forfeited on Markham's exile.[17]
He claimed to be unhappy at James's Court, owing specifically to the heavy drinking by both sexes, but in fact, he seems to have derived amusement from the antics of the courtiers. He left a description of a disastrous attempt by Sir Robert Cecil to stage a masque at Theobalds in honour of a visit by the King's brother-in-law, Christian IV of Denmark in 1606, when some of the players were too drunk to stand up: "The entertainment and show went forward, and most of the presenters went backward, or fell down, wine did so occupy their upper chambers."[18]
Towards the end of his life, Harington tutored Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales. He annotated for him a copy of Francis Godwin's De praesulibus Angliae (Of the rulers of England). Harington's grandson, John Chetwind published these annotations in 1653 under the title A Briefe View of the State of the Church. While tutoring the Prince, Harington also translated from Italian to English verse Regimen sanitatis Salernitanum (Health regimen of the School of Salernum), a medieval collection of health tips. The translation was published in 1607 in London.[19]
Harington fell ill in May 1612 and died on 20 November 1612 at the age of 52, soon after Henry Frederick, who had died on 6 November. He was buried in Kelston.[20]
In popular culture[edit]
In the television series South Park, Harington appears as a ghost in the episode "Reverse Cowgirl". He explains how to use his invention, the toilet, properly.[21]
In the TV series Sir Francis Drake, Harington is played by Michael Anderson Jr. and is the titular character in the episode "Boy Jack", where he has an adventure in Portugal with Sir Francis Drake.
