Bio of African-American Inventor Elijah McCoy

Elijah McCoy was born sometime in 1843 or 1844; his actual birthdate is unknown. It is known that his parents, George and Mildred McCoy, were slaves who had left their home in Kentucky and fled to freedom in Canada. George joined the British Army. After his hitch was up, he moved to one hundred and sixty acres of land that was given to him by the government in honor of his service. George and Mildred raised Elijah and his eleven siblings on this land which was located near Colchester, Ontario.

As Elijah McCoy grew up, he developed a keen interest with how tools and machines worked. 

When he was sixteen years old, he became an apprentice in Mechanical Engineering in Edinburgh, Scotland. McCoy ended up becoming a Master Mechanic and an Engineer.

After the slaves were given their freedom when the Civil War ended, George McCoy and his family returned to the states. But, they didn't return to Kentucky. Instead, they traveled north to Detroit, Michigan. There were better job opportunities in the North than in the South...but not for an Afro-American man. Even though he was a trained engineer, prejudice was still alive and well, and Elijah had a difficult time finding a job.

Elijah finally got a job at the Michigan Central Railroad in 1870. He was a fireman and an oiler. 

As a fireman, he had to keep his locomotive stoked with coal. As an oiler, he had to oil all the moving parts of the locomotive anytime it made a stop for water.

Though his new job didn't use any of his engineering skills, Elijah used them to invent his first product in 1872. It was an automatic lubricating cup for steam engines. He received a United States patent for this invention on June 23, 1872. The Michigan Central Railroad liked his idea, and the company installed his invention on their locomotives.

From there, the automatic lubricating cup became popular and it was installed on other types of steam engines.