Elijah McCoy invented an oil dripping cup for steam engines to provide lubrication, which worked so well that people started asking for the "real McCoy". Thomas Edison invented many things that changed American life, working primarily in electricity where he developed the light bulb and other mechanical uses. Lewis Latimer invented the carbon filament that allowed Thomas Edison to create the light bulb. Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, enabling easy communication.

1. Inventors during the late 1800s