Luther Haws was a self-employed master plumber and sheet metal contractor, as well as a sanitation inspector, for the city of Berkeley, California. In 1906, while on his rounds at a public school, Luther noticed children drinking from a shared tin cup. This unsanitary though typical arrangement inspired the inventor in him. Using available parts, Luther Haws assembled the world's first drinking faucet. The Berkeley School Department loved the idea and installed the first models. In 1909 Luther formed the Haws Sanitary Drinking Faucet Company, located in Berkeley, and obtained several patents. Thirsty Californians soon discovered Luther's label on his fountains: "Haws Sanitary Drinking Faucet Company, Berkeley, California, Patent 1911." Luther Haws' innovative style still drives this third and fourth-generation family-owned company.