William Painter, an Irish-born American, invented the crown cap for bottled carbonated beverages in 1891 and obtained patents 468,226 and 468,258 for it on February 2, 1892.

He founded his own manufacturing business, the Crown Cork and Seal Company, in Baltimore and set out on a campaign to convince bottlers that his cap was the right one to use on their products.

By 1898, he had created a foot-powered crowner device to sell to bottlers and retailers so that they could seal the bottles with his caps quickly and easily.

By 1906, Crown had opened manufacturing plants in Brazil, France, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom.

[4] In August 2023, it was announced Crown had acquired Helvetia Packaging - a beverage can manufacturing facility in Saarlouis, Germany.