Black History Month tribute to “the real McCoy”

By Jack McKenna, STLE President | TLT President's Report February 2025

One of the first lubrication engineers helped improve lubricators for steam engines.

Elijah McCoy. Photo courtesy of the New York Public Library.
Most of you have likely heard the term “the real McCoy.” While there is some debate as to where this phrase found its meaning, the most likely source was Elijah McCoy. Elijah (1844-1929) was born in Colchester, Ontario, Canada to escaped slaves who fled Kentucky in the 1830s via the underground railroad. He was educated until the age of 15 in the segregated school system in Ontario and then enrolled in an engineering program at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.

After becoming a certified engineer he moved to the U.S. and set up a small shop for research and development of machines to aid in the emerging Industrial Revolution. While working for the Michigan Central Railroad as a fireman and lubrication specialist, Elijah found the need for an automatic oiling mechanism. In 1872 Mr. McCoy was granted U.S. patent 129,843 under the name “Improvement in Lubricators for Steam-Engines.” At that time there were many devices that were used as automatic oilers that were very important to the ongoing lubrication and operation of steam locomotives. These systems meant that trains no longer had to stop to be lubricated but could be part of a continuous lubrication loop. Many tried to make knockoffs (patent enforcement in that era was spotty at best and very difficult for someone from the Black community), but the end-users of that day demanded they be given “the real McCoy” as all other automatic lubricators were deemed inferior. Merriam-Webster’s definition for “the real McCoy” phrase is “something or someone that is real or genuine: something or someone that is neither an imitation or a substitute.”1

After years of mainly selling his patented devices to companies with more capital he became recognized by his peers in the Black community, including Booker T. Washington who honored him for having the most patents (57) of any African American of his era. By the end of his life he had started his own company for production of his many patented devices called the Elijah McCoy Manufacturing Company in Detroit, Mich.

As we celebrate Black History Month, I wanted to recognize this great inventor and engineer who helped shape history as it relates to our industry. Thank you to Mr. McCoy for being one of the first lubrication engineers and for helping to bring notice to the importance of reducing friction in our world.

REFERENCE
1. www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20real%20mccoy
 
Jack McKenna is vice president of corporate accounts for Sea-Land Chemical Company located in Cleveland, Ohio, and is based in Elmhurst, Ill. You can reach him at jack.mckenna@sealandchem.com.