With A New Doodle, Google Honours Engineer And Inventor Elijah McCoy
With a new Doodle, Google honours Black Canadian-American engineer and inventor Elijah McCoy, who made significant contributions to railway efficiency.
The moving artwork of McCoy contemplating with a pencil to his chin appears on Google’s homepage. A train circles him in a circle as well.
In 1837, McCoy’s parents used the Underground Railroad to flee slavery in Kentucky and moved to Canada. McCoy was born in Colchester, Ontario, and had an interest in mechanics and trains as a child.
The inventor relocated to Edinburgh, Scotland, to work as an apprentice mechanical engineer. Due to racial discrimination in the United States, McCoy moved to Michigan but had difficulty obtaining work that matched his skills in 1866.
McCoy worked as a fireman and an oiler for the Michigan Central Railroad. He went on to create the oil-drip cup, which allowed oil to flow steadily around a train’s engine without needing to stop every few miles.
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McCoy then received his first patent, titled Improvement in Steam Engine Lubricators. Oil drilling, mining equipment, construction and factory tools were all revolutionised as a result of the idea.
During his lifetime, the engineer held 57 patents, including patents for a lawn sprayer and an ironing board. In 1920, he founded the Elijah McCoy Manufacturing Company, which produced lubrication devices bearing his name.
In 2001, McCoy was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in Akron, Ohio, and the Detroit Historical Museum has a dedicated exhibit dedicated to him.
