Eli H. Janney

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

In the American Civil War, Janney achieved the rank of major for the Confederate States of America,

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.

Patents awarded Improved Car Coupling, April 21, 1868 Improvement in Car-Couplings April 29, 1873 Improvement in Car-Couplings October 20, 1874 Improvement in Car-Platforms August 20, 1878 Improvement in Car-Coupling Draw-Bars August 27, 1876 Improvement in Car-Couplings February 25, 1879 Improvement in Car-Buffers April 8, 1879 Improvement in Car-Buffers May 13, 1879