| Elijah
McCoy (1844-1928) 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. T
he high quality of
Elijah McCoy's inventions gained such fame that the phrase "the
Real McCoy" was coined to distinguish "the father of
lubrication's" inventions from cheap imitations |
