Podcast appearances and mentions of bob cromwell

This week is Part 2 in our 2 part series on John Harington, the man who invented the first flush toilet in England. Our guest, Bob Cromwell, is back again this week to take us back to 16th century England and explore the exciting life of John Harington beyond his invention of the flush toilet. Harington was known as a literary figure, primarily for his translation of Orlando Furioso, and was a godson to Elizabeth I as well as a courtier in the royal court. Harington’s destiny was set into motion by his father, who was imprisoned in the Tower of London alongside Elizabeth I. Harington the son would go on to tutor the son of James I during Shakespeare’s lifetime. Bob Cromwell is here to share with us some of the historical research that suggests the life of John Harington created such a splash in English society during Shakespeare’s lifetime that Shakespeare himself may have included references to Harington in his plays

Surviving archaeological items from the first English settlements at Jamestown include intact chamber pots. One of these chamber pots was part of a 2009 exhibit at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington DC, United States. These pots were brought over to the New World by 16-17th century colonists who, at the time, used chamber pots as essential items. However, when they arrived, the colonists were surprised to discover that the natives did not have the same sanitary system as they did back in England, and by consequence, did not have streets running with open sewage as the colonists were accustomed to seeing.  Despite the Romans having developed a sophisticated system for water sanitation and disposal of waste, the English of Shakespeare’s lifetime did not continue that progress. For Shakespeare’s entire lifetime, and many years prior, sanitation and cleanliness was misunderstood, sometimes feared, and certainly not well practiced in 16th C England. The sanitation of Shakespeare’s lifetime functions as an example of when technology did not continue to progress past the Romans, but instead, absolutely digressed to truly gross levels. Excrement was collected in chamber pots, or sometimes just in an open area, whenever someone happened to find the need to relieve themselves. Once collected, it would be disposed of by throwing it out the window and into the street below (It was not uncommon for passersby to be hit with the falling urine or feces if they weren’t careful).  In 1591, a godson of Elizabeth I, and a member of her royal court, proposed a new idea. Sir John Harington would write The Metamorphosis of Ajax (A jakes is slang term for a place to go to the bathroom) in which he included detailed engineering diagrams and instructions for applicable use on the first ever flush toilet in the world.    Here today to tell us about the history of chamber pots in England, John Harington’s design, and how this revolutionary piece of technology was received during Shakespeare’s lifetime, is our guest, Bob Cromwell.

Retired agent Bob Cromwell served 22 years with the FBI. In the early part of his career, Bob was assigned cases under the Violent Crimes Program and investigated dangerous fugitive matters. In this episode of FBI Retired Case File Review, Bob is interviewed specifically about his investigation and capture of two fugitives wanted for Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution (UFAP). One was a rapist and the other the murderer of a well-known New Orleans Catholic Priest. Following his success as a field agent, Bob moved up the management ranks and retired as the Special Agent in Charge of the Jacksonville Division. He currently serves on and is board chairman of the Innocence Project of Florida, working to exonerate innocent people sent to prison for crimes they did not commit. In this episode, Bob is also interviewed about his fight to correct and prevent wrongful convictions. His new book—Fugitive Man: Hunting Violent Criminals for the FBI and Searching for Justice for the Innocent Convict—covers his FBI career and Innocence Project work. Bob can be contacted via his website fugitiveman.com.

Ever wonder about the role of archaeology at Fort Vancouver? Join park employees Dr. Doug Wilson and Dr. Bob Cromwell behind the scenes as they describe the park's acclaimed archaeology program. Part 1 of 2.