The crimp top was patented by William Painter, Feb.2,1892. He called it, and it's still officially known as, the disposable Crown Cork bottle cap. He not only had to invent and patent the cap but a bottle that it would work on. Convincing the bottle manufacturers and bottlers that his new cap was worth changing the whole process of making and handling bottles was his real obstacle. Oddly enough he did not invent an opener. For several years there were all sorts of complicated inefficient inventions, some as complicated as the machine that crimped the caps, before the simple lever types we use today showed up, a bunch of them all at once so there is no real patent or inventor for the basic design. You can see William "Pops" Painter's original patent drawings here; http://vintage-reprints.com/catalog/advanced_search_result.php?osCsid=802bdcb7ea2c549d8c6aae657fc84d6d&keywords=crimp+bottle+cap+invented&osCsid=802bdcb7ea2c549d8c6aae657fc84d6d I wish Painter's patent required bottlers who use his cap to not put their logo on it, instead they would have to use some kind of clearly visible warning, "This is NOT a twist off!" Perhaps a big bright red drop of blood.