Although superlatives are commonplace in the marketing of an invention or service, there are few loftier accolades than “the real McCoy.”

One of Elijah McCoy’s inventions is widely credited with inspiring that idiom, for his unique ability to keep engines running smoothly. The vast majority of his 57 U.S. patents involved lubricating systems for steam engines in locomotives, ships, and factory equipment.

His parents, George and Mildred McCoy of Kentucky, were enslaved from birth but escaped via the Underground Railroad to Canada, where Elijah was born. In 1859, after moving to Michigan, they raised enough money for Elijah to travel to Scotland at age 15 for an apprenticeship in mechanical engineering.

He returned home after becoming certified as a mechanical engineer but couldn’t find work in that field. He became a fireman and oiler for the Michigan Central Railroad—when his fortunes changed and he helped shape engineering history.

In 1872, McCoy invented and patented an automatic oiling device for moving parts of steam locomotives known as the “oil-drip cup.” U.S. Patent No. 129,843 was called “Improvement in Lubricators for Steam-Engines.”

By 1900, his slew of lubrication-related patents gave him more patents than any African-American inventor at that time, according to africhroyale.com. Many tried to copy his oil-drip cup invention, but his was the original development and had the best reputation. Railroads and shipping companies generally preferred what they called “the real McCoy.”

(Although McCoy’s invention is commonly regarded as the basis for that term, the Smithsonian reported that the Canadian encyclopedia is not so certain. The encyclopedia cites late-19th and early-20th century figures such as Charlie McCoy and Joseph McCoy as also having been credited for the origin of this phrase; the idiom also may be a corruption of the Scots’ saying “The real MacKay.”)

In 1916, at age 72, McCoy created the graphite lubricator that allowed new superheater trains and devices to be oiled.

McCoy, who also invented the portable ironing board and sprinkler system, was seriously injured in a 1922 automobile accident that killed his wife. He died in 1929 in Detroit.

In 1974, the state of Michigan placed a historical marker at McCoy’s’ former home and at his gravesite. The city of Detroit named a street after him.

McCoy was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2001. The Elijah J. McCoy Midwest Regional U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the first USPTO regional office, opened in Detroit on July 13, 2012.

Requests for the USPTO trading cards can be sent to [email protected]. You can also view them at uspto.gov/kids.