Elijah McCoy

McCoy, Elijah (1844?–1929), U.S. engineer and inventor. He developed an efficient system of reducing friction on industrial machinery through the invention of the lubricator cup, which fed a continuous supply of lubricants to the moving parts of machinery, thereby enabling factories to increase their productivity. The popular expression, “the real McCoy” originated when buyers of new machinery insisted that they contain real McCoy lubricators.