Garrett A. Morgan, 1877 - 1963

Though he patented several inventions over the course of his lifetime, Garrett Augustus Morgan is perhaps best known for making American streets safer with his invention of the traffic signal. Born to former slaves in Paris, Kentucky on March 4, 1877, Morgan divided his time as a child between school and work on the family farm, alongside his ten brothers and sisters. Like many other African-Americans during and after the turn-of-the-century, he migrated north, in hopes of finding better opportunities than what was afforded him in the South. At just 14, he left Kentucky and moved first to Cincinnati, then Cleveland, Ohio, where, after earning money as a handyman, he opened a sewing machine store and repair shop in 1907. Though his formal education had ended with elementary school, he continued his pursuit of knowledge, even hiring a tutor in English grammar once he was established in Ohio. In 1908, he married Mary Anne Hassek, and shortly thereafter developed his first invention-a hair straightening cream, which he called the G.A. Morgan Hair Refining Cream, sold and marketed through his newly incorporated (and very successful) business, the G.A. Morgan Refining Company.

Soon after, Morgan developed another invention, and one that, like the traffic signal, would prove to enormously important in improving safety standards in America. He patented his "Safety Hood," later to become popularly known as the gas mask, in 1912. The breathing device consisted of a hood, filtered air intake tube, and a second tube that allowed air to be exhaled out of the hood. Morgan's device, intended for use by firemen, scientists, and workers who were forced to breath fumes or dust, won first place at the Second International Exposition of Safety and Sanitation, and later proved its mettle in its first "real life" demonstration when Morgan and his brother donned the "Safety Hoods" and saved a number of workers when a tunnel exploded under Lake Erie. The incident, widely publicized in the media, brought considerable acclaim to both Morgan and his invention. Orders for the device soon came pouring in from fire departments across the country, a number of which were later canceled when it was revealed that Morgan was black, despite the invention's proven success and the inventor's heroic actions while using it. However, the use of poisonous gas in World War I soon provided another practical use for the device, and the army purchased thousands, saving the lives of countless soldiers and proving quite lucrative for Morgan in the process.

The inspiration for his next invention would come from the dangerously busy and congested city streets. After witnessing an accident between an automobile and a horse-drawn carriage, he decided to develop a means of automatically directing traffic that would be more cost-efficient than placing a police officer at every intersection. The traffic signal Morgan created-patented in the U.S. on November 20, 1923 and in Great Britain and Canada shortly after-consisted of a T-shaped pole with three positions: "Stop," "Go," and a third position that halted traffic in all directions to enable pedestrians to safely cross the intersection, a useful development indeed, as pedestrian deaths had reached an all-time high prior to his invention. Morgan sold the rights to his invention, upon which today's traffic signals are still based, to the General Electric Company for $40,000, an astronomical sum at the time. Morgan's traffic signal brought him both wealth and public recognition, with fellow businessmen like John. D. Rockefeller and J.P. Morgan praising his ingenuity. He often used his success and developing clout to help Cleveland's black community and further the cause of racial equality. Shortly after receiving a commendation from the U.S. Government for his contribution to public safety, he died on July 27, 1963 at the age of 86.