Sir John Harington
Born	August 4, 1561 Kelston, Somerset, England
Died	November 20, 1612
Spouse	Mary Rogers 1583

Sir John Harington (August 4, 1561 – November 20, 1612) was a courtier and author. He became a prominent member of Queen Elizabeth I's court, and was known as her 'saucy Godson'. But because of his poetry and other writings, he fell in and ultimately out of favor with the Queen, as well as with her successor, King James I of England. He is well known today as the inventor of a fore-runner of the modern flush toilet, described in his famous work The Metamorphosis of Ajax which had enjoyed considerable popularity on its publication in 1596. is the 216th day of the year (217th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... // Events The Edict of Orleans suspends the persecution of the Huguenots. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_England. ... Kelston is a small village in Somerset, 4 miles North West of Bath, and 8 East of Bristol. ... This page is about the county of Somerset in the United Kingdom. ... is the 324th day of the year (325th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events January 20 - Mathias becomes Holy Roman Emperor. ... 1583 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. ... is the 216th day of the year (217th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... // Events The Edict of Orleans suspends the persecution of the Huguenots. ... is the 324th day of the year (325th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events January 20 - Mathias becomes Holy Roman Emperor. ... This article is about Elizabeth I of England. ... James VI and I (19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scots as James VI, and King of England and King of Ireland as James I. He ruled in Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567, when he was only one year old, succeeding his mother Mary... Close coupled cistern type flushing toilet. ...

Family life

Harington was born in Kelston, Somerset, England, the son of John Harington of Kelston (d. 1582), the poet, and his second wife Isabella Markham (d. 1579), a gentlewoman of Queen Elizabeth I's privy chamber. He enjoyed the honour of being accepted as a godson of the childless Queen, becoming one of her 102 god-children. Her god children were persons that the Queen was fond of. If the Queen's friend had a child or children, the Queen would often show extreme niceties to them, and sometimes, would accept them as godchildren. She treated them well. Persons who also made great achievements, such as John Harington, were made god children. Sometimes, if the children had misbehaved or showed disrespect, they could be removed, as Sir John Harington was when he was just 14^{[citation needed]}. Kelston is a small village in Somerset, 4 miles North West of Bath, and 8 East of Bristol. ... This article is about the county of Somerset in England. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Cleopatra is one of the most well-known queens regnant A queen regnant (plural queens regnant) is a woman monarch possessing and exercising all of the monarchal powers of a king, in contrast with a queen consort, who is the wife of a reigning king, and in and of her...

The exact relationship between the John Harington of Kelston and the line of John Harington of Exton has not been established. Apparently John of Kelston did not know the pedigree of his obscure grandfather, Alexander of Stepney. Nevertheless it is generally assumed that he was also descended from the first Lord Harington of Aldingham a baron in Edward II's time. Edward II, (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), of Caernarfon, was King of England from 1307 until deposed in January, 1327. ...

He was educated at Eton and King's College Cambridge.

Although he had intended to study law, Harington was attracted early in life to the royal court, where his freespoken attitude and poetry gained Elizabeth's attention. The Queen encouraged his writing, but Harington was inclined to overstep the mark in his somewhat Rabelaisian and occasionally risqué pieces. His attempt at a translation of Ariosto's Orlando Furioso caused his banishment from court for some years, but was completed in 1591 and received great praise. [1] Angered by the raciness of his translations the Queen told Harington that he was to leave and not return until he had translated the entire poem. She chose this punishment rather than actually banishing him, but she considered the task so difficult that it was assumed Harington would not bother to comply. Harington, however, chose to follow through with the request, and eventually completed translating the poem. His version of the poem is the translation that is still read by Engish speakers today.^[1] Royal court (as distinguished from a court of law) may refer to a number of institutions: A noble court - the household or entourage of a monarch or other ruler The Royal Court of Jersey - the main court of justice of Jersey The Royal Court of Guernsey - the main court of... François Rabelais François Rabelais (c. ... Ludovico Ariosto (September 8, 1474 _ July 6, 1533) was a Ferrarese poet, author of the epic poem Orlando furioso (1516), Orlando Enraged. He was born at Reggio, in Hungary in 1518, and wished Aniosto to accompany him. ... Ruggiero Rescuing Angelica by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres. ...

Harington was wed to a woman named Mary Rogers in 1583. Together, they had fifteen children, two named James, John, Frances, Henry, Edward, Robert, Helena, George, Elizabeth, Mary, Hannah, and Robert (fun fact: she wished to have another boy and name it Eugene but then became dormant). One of the children was never found and recorded in history, but the other, Edmund, fled because he did not like his family's ways. Later, he came back to his family to find his father and mother dead. His sister Helena also passed away and George was never seen again. Edmund moved to Liverpool and became a tailor^{[citation needed]}. 1583 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. ...

Harington fell ill in May 1612 and died on 20 November 1612; he was buried in Kelston. is the 324th day of the year (325th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events January 20 - Mathias becomes Holy Roman Emperor. ...

Campaigns in Ireland

In 1599 the queen sent an army, led by Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, to Ireland during the Nine Years War (1595-1603). Following her strong recommendation that Essex include him in his army, Harington was put in command of horseman under Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton. Harington's legacy from this campaign were his letters and journal, which served to give the queen good intelligence about the progress of the campaign and its politics. Harington wrote, "I have informed myself reasonably well of the whole state of the country, by observation and conference: so I count the knowledge I have gotten here worth more than half the three hundred pounds this journey hath cost me." During the campaign Essex conferred a knighthood on Harington for his services. Essex fell into disfavour with the queen for concluding the campaign on a truce, and also caused her fury over the large number of knighthoods he awarded. Harington had been present at the truce negotiations, and on accompanying Essex when he returned to court to account to the queen, he experienced the royal wrath. However, his wit and charm soon secured the queen's forgiveness. Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex (10 November 1566 – 25 February 1601), favourite of Queen Elizabeth I of England, is the best-known of the many holders of the title Earl of Essex. ... The Nine Years War (Irish: Cogadh na Naoi mBliana) in Ireland took place from 1594 to 1603 and is also known as Tyrones Rebellion. ... For other meanings of Essex, see Essex (disambiguation). ... Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton, 1603, in the Tower, atrributed to John de Critz. ...

Literary works

Harington continued to write, even though he had vowed to give up poetry upon the death of Queen Elizabeth. He published just one more slim volume of verse in 1607, but continued to send letters both to friends and to the king's eldest son, Prince Henry, until 1609. Some of these letters were later collected by Harington's descendant, Henry Harington, and published under the title of Nugae Antiquae in 1769. The volume is a significant source for the history of the Tudor re-conquest of Ireland. Year 1607 (MDCVII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 10-day slower Julian calendar). ... // Events April 4 – King of Spain signs an edit of expulsion of all moriscos from Spain April 9 – Spain recognizes Dutch independence May 23 - Official ratification of the Second Charter of Virginia. ... 1769 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The Tudor re-conquest of Ireland took place under the English Tudor dynasty during the 16th century. ...

Orlando Furioso

The Metamorphosis of Ajax

Around this time, Harington also devised Britain's first flushing toilet — called the Ajax (i.e. "a jakes"; jakes being an old slang word for toilet) — installed at his manor in Kelston, and which was reputed to have been current with the queen herself. Indeed, the American utilisation of the word 'John' as a euphemism for toilet, or bathroom, derives from Harington's invention. In 1596, Harington wrote a book called A New Discourse upon a Stale Subject: The Metamorphosis of Ajax about his invention. He published it under the pseudonym of Misacmos. The book made political allusions to the Earl of Leicester that angered the Queen, and he was again banished from the court. The Queen's mixed feelings for him may be the only thing that saved Harington from being tried at Star Chamber. Flush toilet A flush toilet or water closet is a toilet that disposes of the waste products by using water to sweep them away down a drainpipe. ... For other uses, see Slang (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Toilet (disambiguation). ... Kelston is a small village in Somerset, 4 miles North West of Bath, and 8 East of Bristol. ... Events February 5 - 26 catholics crucified in Nagasaki, Japan. ... The Earl of Leicester was created in the 12th century as a title in the Peerage of England (title now extinct), and is currently a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, created in 1837. ... The Star Chamber (Latin Camera stellata) was an English court of law at the royal Palace of Westminster that sat between 1487 and 1641, when the court itself was abolished. ...

Life as a courtier

After the queen's death, Harington's fortunes faltered at the court of the new King, James I. He spent some time at his manor at Kelston, but then found himself serving time in prison. He had stood surety for the debts of his cousin, Sir Griffin Markham, in the sum of £4000, when the latter 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 custody in October 1603. However, James I had already recognised his loyalty and created him a Knight of the Bath and also granted him the properties forfeited upon Markham's exile. James VI and I (19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scots as James VI, and King of England and King of Ireland as James I. He ruled in Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567, when he was only one year old, succeeding his mother Mary... Sir Griffin Markham (d. ... The Bye Plot was a conspiracy by English Catholics to kidnap King James I of England and force him to repeal anti-Catholic legislation. ... The Main Plot was a conspiracy by English Catholics, allegedly led by lay Catholic Lord Cobham, to remove King James I of England from the English throne, replacing him by aid of Spain with his cousin Arabella (or Arbella) Stuart. ... Military Badge of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. ...

Towards the end of his life, Sir John Harington became the tutor to Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales. He annoted for him a copy of Francis Godwin's De praesulibus Angliae. Harington's grandson, John Chetwind later published these annotations in 1653, under the title of A Briefe View of the State of the Church. Henry Stuart, Prince of Wales Henry Frederick Stuart, Prince of Wales (February 19, 1594 - November 6, 1612) was the eldest son of King James VI of Scotland/James I of England and Anne of Denmark. ... Francis Godwin (1562-1633), English divine, son of Thomas Godwin, bishop of Bath and Wells, was born at Hannington, Northamptonshire. ...

Sir John Harington died on November 20, 1612 at the age of 51. Though he was never able to regain his place in high society in England, his poetry at the time was well known and much admired, despite lacking much place in modern literature. is the 324th day of the year (325th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events January 20 - Mathias becomes Holy Roman Emperor. ...

Image

A portrait, on loan from the National Portrait Gallery, London, is on show Montacute House, Somerset, England and another is here. For other uses, see Portrait (disambiguation). ... The National Portrait Gallery is an art gallery in St Martins Place, London, England, which opened to the public in 1856. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Montacute House, the west front. ... This article is about the county of Somerset in England. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ...

Quotes

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John Harington

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References

External links

• The de Haverington connection
• The Harington and Harrington family
• Sir John Harington - the first flushing toilet?
• Comprehensive on-line reference
• Another good reference

Bibliography

• Grimble, Ian (1957). The Harington Family. Jonathon Cape, London. 
• Kilroy, Gerald (2004). "Sir John Harington: ‘A Protesting Catholique Purytan’".

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