![]() ![]() Office Hours Contact: Email the Faculty Member and cc the Faculty Coordinatorĭana Charles McCoy is the Marie and Max Kargman Associate Professor in Human Development and Urban Education Advancement at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Mary would die from the injuries and Elijah’s health suffered for several years until he died in 1929.Degree: Ph.D., New York University, (2013)Įmail: In 1922, Elijah and Mary were involved in an automobile accident and both suffered severe injuries. When he desired an easier and faster way of watering his lawn, he created and patented the lawn sprinkler. He developed and patented a portable ironing board after his wife expressed a need for an easier way of ironing clothes. ![]() In 1920, Elijah established the “Elijah McCoy Manufacturing Company.” With his new company, he improved and sold the graphite lubricator as well as other inventions which came to him out of necessity. ![]() In 1916 McCoy created the graphite lubricator which allowed new superheater trains and devices to be oiled. Versions of the cup would soon be used in steam engines, naval vessels, oil-drilling rigs, mining equipment, in factories and construction sites. He made continued improvements to the “lubricating cup.” The patent application described the it as a device which “provides for the continuous flow of oil on the gears and other moving parts of a machine in order to keep it lubricated properly and continuous and thereby do away with the necessity of shutting down the machine periodically.” The device would be adjusted and modified in order to apply it to different types of machinery. He thus sold some percentages of rights to his patent to finance building a workshop. McCoy remained interested in continuing to perfect his invention and to create more. In 1873, McCoy married again, this time his bride was Mary Eleanor Delaney and the couple would eventually settle into Detroit, Michigan together for the next 50 years. Sadly, Elizabeth passed away just four years later. In 1868, Elijah married Ann Elizabeth Stewart. Other inventors attempted to sell their own versions of the device but most companies wanted the authentic device, requesting “the Real McCoy.” The “lubricating cup” met with enormous success and orders for it came in from railroad companies all over the country. He received a patent for the device later that year. In 1872 he developed a “lubricating cup” that could automatically drip oil when and where needed. In an effort to improve efficiency and eliminate the frequent stopping necessary for lubrication of the train, McCoy set out to create a method of automating the task. After a few miles, the train would be forced to stop and he would have to walk alongside the train applying oil to the axles and bearings. As an oilman, Elijah was responsible for ensuring that the train was well lubricated. As a fireman, McCoy was responsible for shoveling coal onto fires which would help to produce steam that powered the locomotive. He was thus forced to take on a position as a fireman\oilman on the Michigan Central Railroad. Elijah moved to Ypsilanti, Michigan but was unable to find work as an engineer. ![]()
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