Elijah McCoy

February 19, 2008

You may Listen or download this story in .mp3 format. or as a .wav file

Profile America for the 19th day of Black History Month. The name of one African-American inventor ended up as part of the language — even though he himself is little remembered today. Elijah McCoy was born in Canada and studied engineering overseas. Settling in Detroit, he worked on the problem of lubricating the machinery of the industrial revolution. He developed a system that allowed machines to be oiled as they ran — before, they had to be shut down and hand lubricated. Legend has it that as inferior imitations of his product began to enter the market, factory owners insisted on getting “the real McCoy,” a phrase that came to mean quality of workmanship. Each year in the U.S., just over 196,000 patents are granted, nearly 17,000 to individuals. This special edition of Profile America for Black History Month is a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.