If you're asking when the first piston/cylinder...
marine toilet was invented, I don't know. But I'm digging for it and I'll get back to you when I find out. However, I do know that some kind of toilet facilities on boats have existed for as long as boats big enough to need any have existed. The earliest were belowdecks in the bow or "head" of the boat--an outhouse type of arrangement open to the sea and near enough to the waterline to wash off the user's bottom...a chilling experience in the North Atlantic. As early as the 12th century, captain's quarters had "water closets" that evolved from chamber pots that it fell to the cabin boy to empty over the side and wash out to more sophisticated fixtures as toilet technology on land evolved. By the 15th century, on many galleons and similar ships, the captain's cabin was below the poop deck (not named for anything to do with waste), putting the sole well above the waterline, allowing for a "direct drop" toilet that could even be flushed by pulling a lever to release water from a reservoir. By the late 19th century, flush toilets (which, btw, were NOT invented by Thomas Crapper)--the kind that have a tank high above it...you pull the chain to release the flush water--had been around a while and could be found on large luxury yachts and steamships. Smaller boats were still forced to use the "bucket and chuck it" method and the lee rail. The first electric toilets came along sometime in the late 1950s or early '60s...and I know that manual toilets have existed since at least the '30s 'cuz I've seen a few that old. But I have no idea when the first one was invented or who did. Now that you've raised the question, I intend to find out, though. To be totally honest, I'm at least as amazed as you are that I don't!
