Eli H. Janney (1831 – 1912) was the inventor of the modern knuckle coupler that replaced link and pin couplers on North American railroads.
In the American Civil War, Janney achieved the rank of Major for the Confederate States of America.
After the war, he was a dry goods clerk in Alexandria, Virginia; he spent many of his lunches whittling his idea in 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 on April 29 1873.
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