—Elijah invented an automatic lubricator  for oiling the steam engines of locomotives and ships. In his life he got 57 patens.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elijah_McCoy
elijah-mccoy.jpg
http://chroniclesofharriet.com/2012/08/09/steamfunk-mad-scientists-mechanics-black-inventors-of-the-steam-age/