Elijah McCoy

1843 ~ 1929

Inventor and Engineer

The lubricating cup, which made possible the automatic oiling of machinery, was invented by Elijah McCoy, the Canadian born son of runaway slaves.

Educated in Scotland as a mechanical engineer, McCoy settled in Detroit on his return to the United States, and started experimenting with a cup that regulated the flow of oil onto moving parts of machines.

In 1872, he was granted a patent for the first automatic lubricator.  No longer did machines have to be stopped for oiling; his new oiling device revolutionized the machine industry.  McCoy established his own firm and obtained patents for additional inventions, such as an "ironing table" and a lawn sprinkler; however, his major contribution was the lubricating cup which was to become so popular that persons inspecting new equipment generally asked if it contained the "real McCoy," meaning the McCoy oiling device.  This helped popularize an American expression, meaning the "real thing."