All Aboard: Elijah McCoy's Steam Engine

Elijah McCoy, the son of slaves, dreamed of studying mechanical engineering. In Scotland he learned everything there was to know about engines, from designing them to building them. When he returned to the United States, the only job Elijah could find was shovelling coal into a train’s firebox. Frustrated with having to stop the train to oil the engine, Elijah invented an oil cup that oiled the engine while the train was running.

Thematic Links: African American Inventors - Trains - Biographies