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Born free on the Ontario shore of Lake Erie to parents who fled enslavement in Kentucky, he traveled to the United States as a young child when his family returned in 1847, becoming a U.S. resident and citizen.
Apr 2, 2014 · Family. McCoy married Ann Elizabeth Stewart in 1868. She died four years after their marriage. In 1873, McCoy married Mary Eleanor Delaney. In 1922, the McCoys were involved in an...
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Known For: McCoy was a Black inventor who improved steam engine technology by designing an automatic lubricator. Born: May 2, 1844, in Colchester, Ontario, Canada. Parents: George and Mildred McCoy. Died: October 10, 1929, in Detroit, Michigan. Awards and Honors: National Inventors Hall of Fame.
- Elijah McCoy’s parents escaped slavery using the Underground Railroad. McCoy’s parents made their way from Kentucky to Ontario, Canada, where Elijah was born on May 2, 1844.
- He went to Scotland to learn engineering. Elijah had an obvious aptitude for taking apart and rebuilding machines. His parents saved enough money to send him to the University of Edinburgh to be trained in mechanical engineering, but when he returned to the States shortly after the Civil War, he found slim prospects as a Black engineer.
- McCoy’s first patented invention revolutionized trail operation. Another part of his job involved oiling the axles and bearings on the trains’ wheels as well parts of the engine, a cumbersome process that required trains to stop frequently for service, which delayed shipments, wasted fuel, and wore down the machinery.
- McCoy’s lubricating device proved useful for more than just trains. Because the automatic oil cup allowed gears and moving parts to be lubricated while in motion, other industries that previously had to stop their equipment for servicing naturally wanted to adopt it.
Mar 3, 2007 · Elijah McCoy, one of the two most prolific black inventors of the 19th Century (the other was Granville T. Woods), was born on May 2, 1843 in Colchester, Ontario, Canada to runaway slave parents who used the Underground Railroad to escape. Once the McCoy family settled in Canada, they were extremely poor.
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At the age of 3, McCoy and his family moved back to the U.S. and eventually settled in Ypsilanti, Michigan, where his father opened a tobacco business. Even from a young age, McCoy loved playing with his father’s tools and machines, and he experimented with different ways to fix and improve them.
Jul 18, 2022 · Before Elijah McCoy’s birth on May 2, 1843, his parents fled enslavement. George and Mildred McCoy escaped bondage in Kentucky and traveled north on the Underground Railroad. They reached Ontario, Canada, where they welcomed Elijah into their family. In 1847, the McCoys left Ontario for Michigan.
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