22 Elijah McCoy

Elijah McCoy

Time period:

1844 – 1929

Subject:

Mechanical Engineering

Biography:

Elijah McCoy was an African-Canadian engineer who made notable contributions to mechanical engineering. He was born in Ontario, Canada, and moved to the U.S. with his family when he was 3. His parents were former slaves who escaped from the United States to Canada through the Underground Railroad. When McCoy was young, he became interested in how machines worked. At the age of 15, McCoy travelled to Scotland to pursue an education in engineering because he was facing educational barriers in Canada. McCoy then moved back to Michigan, where he encountered difficulties finding a job that suited his level of education due to racial discrimination.

One of McCoy’s first jobs involved lubricating the moving parts of train engines by hand, which was time-consuming and inefficient. As a result, he invented a device that automatically lubricated the steam engine. Eventually, McCoy was able to create the Elijah McCoy Manufacturing Company and devote himself to creating other inventions.

During his lifetime, McCoy received 57 patents, 50 of which were related to the lubrication of steam engines, and in 1975 his birthday was established as Elijah McCoy Day by the city of Detroit. McCoy’s impact on mechanical engineering not only advanced industrial efficiency but also showed the resilience of an inventor who overcame significant racial barriers.

Summary of their contributions:

Elijah McCoy is known for the invention of the automatic lubricator. Before the invention, lubricating the moving parts of a steam engine had to be completed by hand, and the train had to be stopped so that someone could walk around and add oil to each part of the machinery one by one so that the engine could operate without overheating. McCoy’s automatic lubricator involves using steam pressure to lubricate parts of a train engine automatically while the train is in motion, which was extremely successful and spread rapidly through the railroad business.

Integration with the BC Secondary Science Curriculum:

Elijah McCoy’s work fits in well with Physics 11 and 12, specifically topics including friction forces, efficiency, and simple machines. For example, when discussing friction forces, McCoy’s work can be used to discuss how friction can lead to objects exerting heat energy and causing overheating, which can be reduced by lubricating the material therefore reducing the coefficient of friction.

For the curricular competencies, McCoy’s work can be applied, but not limited to:

• Make observations aimed at identifying their own questions, including increasingly abstract ones, about the natural world
• Experience and interpret the local environment
• Exercise a healthy, informed skepticism and use scientific knowledge and findings to form their own investigations to evaluate claims in primary and secondary sources
• Connect scientific explorations to careers in science
• Consider the changes in knowledge over time as tools and technologies have developed
• Contribute to finding solutions to problems at a local and/or global level through inquiry
• Consider the role of scientists in innovation
• Express and reflect on a variety of experiences, perspectives, and worldviews through place

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