Did Africans invent the steam engine?

First Invented in Africa

In the library of Alexandria, where the ancient knowledge of the Black Eygptians had been gathered, preserved and relentlessly researched by the Ptolemic/Hellenic Empire of Asia Minor.

The very magic of the goddess and the god were inscribed in their own hand writings on sacred scrolls, which revealed the secrets of the ancient foundation of science, metaphysics, astronomy, technology and mathematics. This fact was acknowledged by the whole earth which sojourned on pilgrimage to the blessed lands of Egypt, Ethiopia and Punt to receive celestial knowledge and beneficience.

So it happened that in the first century A.D. an African/Hellene named Heron of Alexandria stumbled across the secrets of steam machines and several other devices recorded in those sacred scrolls of the ancient and magical Kemetians. Heron, like all the other so-called Greek discoverers (and similar later day “European” discoverers like Colombus) only “discovered” what was already there before him.

It must be noted at all times that Heron, came across the secret of steam engine in Kemetian books stored in the libraries of Alexandria, managed by ancient Kemetian priest-hood which had continued with lesser influence under the Ptolemaic hegemony

Digging through the scientific trove of the ancient Kemetians, Heron developed several devices that were operated by water, steam, or compressed air, including a fountain, a fire engine, and the steam engine.

Different dynasties and kingdoms thereafter sought to exploit the power of the steam engines to various ends. The Carthaginians, the Romans, and the Moors thereafter. The Moors in Europe famously constructed machines which appeared close to steam engines if the descriptions of the contemporaries of those periods were to be accepted.

From England, Scotland to Afro-America and Canada!

Through the ages, the steam engine was developed by various un-named al-chemists and scientists. It was significantly improved in 1711 by Englishman Thomas Newcomen (1663–1729), who created a machine that used steam to pump water.

Not long thereafter, the Scottish inventor James Watt (1736–1819) substantially improved on Newcomen’s model and patented (received exclusive rights to make, use, and sell) his own steam engine in 1769. Steam engines had previously depended on atmospheric pressure to push a piston (a sliding piece of metal moved by pressure) into a cylinder (a hollow tube) and create a vacuum by the cooling steam. Watt’s invention was the first to employ a separate device, called a condenser, which performed this function

The steam engine eventually became the basis of the locomotive engine which ran on rail roads. They had the potential to remake the global economy and society but it was hampered by the inherent problem with the steam engine designs of those days.

At that time, locomotives needed to be shut down periodically to be lubricated to avoid overheating. The frequent stops prevented railroads from being profitable until Elijah McCoy developed the “lubricating cup” for steam engines, which kept locomotives constantly lubricated, preventing frequent stops and overheating.

Elijah McCoy the Great Afro-Canadian Scientist

Elijah McCoy was an Afro-Canadian scientist and inventor. His parents escaped from slavery in Kentucky and travelled via “the Underground Railroad” to Canada. Mccoy was born in Colchester Ontario. He grew up a talented youth in Canada but yet faced racists discriminations which threatened to block the development of his mind. He was blocked from any meaning ful educational opportunity as there were national and regional policies in place to discourage African Canadians and African Americans in general from seeking any higher educational attainement.

So, Elijah Mccoy decided to travel out of Canada to other climes where there appeared to be more opportunities. At 15 years of age he traveled to Scotland seeking the educational opportunities from which Afro-Americans were excluded in the Americas, including then Canada.

Mccoy trained in mechanical engineering in Scotland and then moved to the United States. He was denied an engineering employment-again because he was of African descent. He instead had to take a job as a railroad fireman. In that humble position, he continued in his private time and with his own money, his true scientific calling which was the design and invention of numerous mechanical devices. He built many remarkable machines and inventions. Many of his inventions and innovations are incorporated into the fundamental design and structure of today’s automobile engines and machines.

Mccoy patented the lubricating cup in 1872. It represented the most profitable of his more than 58 patents, which included a folding ironing board and an automatic sprinkler. It revolutionized the steam engine and locomotive travel. Trains could now move continuously at high speed across the continents, delivering people and goods with an efficieny not yet matched by any other means of land travel. Mccoy’s invention was so valuable to the automotive industry that his name became a by-word. Until today, his name is daily invoked across America to associate authenticity and high standards to specific goods and services, by designating such as the “real Mccoy”.

So it goes, that the knowledge that began long ago in Ethiopia, trickled down through Thebes, Memphis, Alexandria, Byzantine, Moorish Spain, England, Scotland and finally African America, has come full circle. What goes around surely comes around.

Jide Uwechia

March 27, 2010

End-Note: Heron also invented the windmill. The Windmill machinery was originally used to mill grains and then it was adapted to supply power for many industrial and agricultural needs. The majority of modern windmills take the form of wind turbines used to generate renewaable electricity, or windpumps used to pump water, either for irrigation, land drainage or to extract groundwater for drinking.

http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0775694.html

http://www.enotes.com/history-fact-finder/science-invention/who-invented-steam-engine

Elijah J. McCoy
Born: 5/2/1843, Birthplace: Colchester, Ontario, Canada
Died: 10/10/1929