Eli H. Janney

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Diagram of the top view of Janney's coupler design as published in his patent application in 1873.

Eli Hamilton Janney (November 12, 1831 – June 16, 1912) was the inventor of the modern knuckle coupler that replaced link and pin couplers on North American railroads.

Biography[edit]

He was born in 1831 to Daniel Janney and Elizabeth Avis Haines in Loudoun County, Virginia. He studied briefly at a seminary.[1] He married Cornelia Hamilton (1833–1889).

In the American Civil War, Janney achieved the rank of major for the Confederate States of America,[1][2] and served on the staff of General Robert E. Lee.[2]

After the war, he was a dry goods clerk in Alexandria, Virginia; he spent many of his lunches whittling his concept out of a block of wood for a replacement to the railroads' link and pin couplers that were in wide use. On April 1, 1873, Janney filed for a patent titled "Improvement in Car-Couplings" describing the knuckle-style couplers that are in use on railroads today. He was awarded U.S. patent 138,405 on April 29, 1873.[1]

He died on June 16, 1912, in Alexandria, Virginia and was buried in Ivy Hill Cemetery. The City of Alexandria named one of their streets in his honor, Janney's Lane.[3]

Janney's coupler and the Westinghouse air brake are generally regarded as being the two most significant safety inventions in U.S. railroads between the end of the Civil War and 1900.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c White, John H. Jr. (2007-02-19). "The Strongest Handshake in the World". American Heritage. Archived from the original on 2007-02-19. Retrieved 2018-11-11.
  2. ^ a b tombstone at Ivy Hill Cemetery
  3. ^ Kelly, John (2011-11-11). "Janneys Lane in Alexandria named for railroad innovator". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-11-11.

Further reading[edit]

Patents awarded[edit]