How Did Andrew J. Beard Advance the Railroad Industry?

Do you know the story of self-taught entrepreneur, engineer and inventor Andrew J. Beard? This National Inventors Hall of Fame^® Inductee developed important improvements to the automatic railroad car coupler. A forerunner of the automatic couplers used today, this device dramatically reduced serious injuries to railroad workers. Read on to learn more about Beard, his innovative journey and his enduring impact.

A Self-Made Man

Beard was born in Jefferson County, Alabama, in 1849. He spent his childhood enslaved on a plantation in East Lake, Alabama, and was finally emancipated at age 15. Though he initially remained on the plantation as a farmer and sharecropper, one year later, he married Edia Beard, left the plantation and purchased an 80-acre farm near Center Point, Alabama.

Though he never received a formal education, the self-taught Beard had a brilliant mind, and a drive to lead and invent. Moving his family to St. Claire County, Alabama, he built and operated his own flour mill just outside Birmingham.

After spending several years successfully running his flour mill, Beard’s aptitude for engineering and familiarity with farming led him to invent several types of plows. In 1881, he earned his first patent on a double plow design. His innovative design allowed users to adjust the distance between plow plates, and when he sold his patent rights in 1884, he earned $4,000, or the equivalent of about $130,000 today.

Beard patented a second double plow design in 1887. This one allowed the pitch of the blades to be adjusted. When he later sold the patent rights for $5,200 ($170,000 today), he invested all his patent earnings into a successful real estate business.

A Champion of Worker Safety

Over time, Beard’s reputation as a talented inventor and mechanic grew, and he received employment offers from many companies. After spending time working as a carpenter and a blacksmith, he entered the booming railroad industry as he accepted a position with the Alabama & Chattanooga Railroad.

Beard learned that one particularly dangerous job within the railroad industry involved manually coupling railroad cars. Workers needed to squeeze in between two cars at just the right time to securely connect them with a large pin. Many workers lost limbs, and some were even crushed between cars, when this procedure was mistimed.

In 1897, Beard patented his most important invention – an improvement on the automatic railroad car coupler. His device came to be called the “Jenny Coupler,” and it was one of many inventions that aimed to improve the knuckle coupler Eli Janney had invented in 1873.

Having earned three patents for his lifesaving car-coupling technology, Beard sold his patent rights to the railroad industry. He used the funds he received to purchase real estate and start another business – a taxi line in Jefferson Country, Alabama.

Beard’s legacy of safety extended across the country when, in 1897, Congress passed the Federal Safety Appliance Act. This act outlawed the operation of any rail cars without automatic couplers.

Meet More Groundbreaking Inventors

To discover more stories of inspiring National Inventors Hall of Fame Inductees, keep exploring our website.