Elijah J. Mccoy: The First African American Engineer

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Elijah McCoy was an important engineer and inventor in the mid 1800s and early 1900s. He invented many machines and had many ideas about how to make everyday life easier. Even though he had a hard time becoming an engineer, he eventually became one of the first African American engineers. He developed designs for an ironing board, a lawn sprinkler, and other machines. His name did not appear on the majority of the products that he devised. Elijah J. McCoy was born on May 2, 1844 in Colchester, Ontario, Canada to George and Mildred Goins McCoy. The McCoys were former fugitive slaves who had escaped from Kentucky to Canada via the Underground Railroad. Beginning at a young age, Elijah McCoy showed a strong interest in mechanics. McCoy

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