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Elijah McCoy

Various Inventions

• Elijah McCoy was the son of former slaves who escaped via the Underground Railroad.
• When he was 15 Elijah McCoy traveled to Scotland and studied mechanical engineering. When McCoy returned to the United States he couldn't get an engineering job because he was of African descent. He instead took a job as a railroad fireman (the person who put wood into the furnace).
• At that time, locomotives needed to be shut down to be lubricated so they wouldn't overheat. McCoy developed a “lubricating cup” for steam engines. This invention kept the locomotives constantly lubricated. It preventing frequent stops and overheating, and made the railroad more profitable. He patented the lubricating cup in 1872. It worked so well that machinists and engineers who wanted genuine McCoy lubricators began to use the expression "the real McCoy" to request his product.
• McCoy patented more than 50 other inventions, included a folding ironing board and an automatic sprinkler.

• Learn about more African American inventors here.