ELIJAH MCCOY: A FOUNDING FATHER TO MACHINERY LUBRICATION, AND THE REAL MCCOY

Machinery lubrication has been an essential aspect of industrial production over the course of each of the four industrial revolutions.

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For nearly all industries, lubricants such as oils and greases help reduce friction and wear on mechanical parts, which, in turn, increases the efficiency and life span of the machinery. One of the most important contributions to the field of machinery lubrication was made by Elijah McCoy, an inventor who developed the first automatic lubricator for steam engines.

McCoy was born in the mid-19th century to African American parer who, through the assistance of the Underground Railroad, had fled from Kentucky to Ontario, Canada, to escape slavery. As a young boy, McCoy was enamored and inspired by the sophistication of contemporary mechanical designs. At the age of 15, he was sent to Scotland, where he studied to become a mechanical engineer at the University of Edinburgh.

Upon completing his education, McCoy returned to his family, who, by this time, had relocated to Michigan. Due to institutionalized racism, he struggled to find a mechanical engineering job worthy of his education and abilities. Instead, he took on jobs in the rail industry, like shoveling coal in the boiler rooms and oil in gtrain wheel bearings and other moving parts. This latter task signifi- cantly extended transport delivery times. 

During the first industrial revolution (before McCoy's invention), lubrication was done manually a time-consuming and often unreliable process: Engineers would have to stop the machinery to lubricate the moving parts, which reduced productivity and increased the risk of equipment failure. This is where McCoy saw room for improvement; he believed that there had to be a better way to lubricate machinery, and he set out to find a solution.