ELIJAH McCOY
Inventor
1844-1928
Elijah McCoy was born in Colchester, Ontario, Canada in 1844. He moved to
Michigan after the Civil War. Employed as a railroad engineer, one of McCoy's
responsibilities was to keep the moving parts of the railroad engine lubricated.
This tedious task inspired McCoy to automate the lubrication process, virtually
ending the need to periodically stop an engine. McCoy's device was called the
"drip cup." It was a tiny container filled with oil whose flow was regulated
by means of a "stopcock." During McCoy's career, he received more than 56
patents for devices which were improved versions of his automatic lubrication
process. His other inventions include the lawn sprinkler, ironing table and
the steam cylinder lubricator. The high quality of elijahmccoy's inventions gained such
notoriety that the phrase "the Real McCoy" was coined to distinguish "the
father of lubrication's" inventions from cheap imitations.
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Elijah McCoy
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