Garrett Augustus Morgan,
Sr. was an American inventor whose curiosity and innovation led him to develop
several commercial products, the successors of which are still in use today. A
practical man of humble beginnings, Morgan devoted his life to creating items that made
the lives of common people safer and more convenient.
The Inventor's Early Life. Garrett A.
Morgan was born in Paris, Kentucky on March 4, 1877. His parents were former slaves.
Morgan spent his early childhood was spent attending school and working with his brothers
and sisters on the family farm . He left Kentucky while still a teenager, moving north to
Cincinnati, Ohio in search of employment.
An industrious youth, Morgan spent most of his
adolescence working as a handyman for a wealthy Cincinnati landowner. Similar to
many African American of his generation, whose circumstances compelled them to begin
working at an early age, Morgan's formal education ended after elementary school, however,
the precocious teenager hired a tutor and continued his studies in English grammar while
living in Cincinnati.
In 1895, Morgan moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where
he worked as a sewing machine repair man for a clothing manufacturer. News of his
proficiency for fixing things and experimenting traveled fast and led to numerous job
offers from various manufacturing firms in the Cleveland area.
In 1907, Morgan opened his own sewing equipment
and repair shop. It was the first of several businesses he would establish. In 1909, he
expanded the enterprise to include a tailoring shop that employed 32 employees. The new
company turned out coats, suits and dresses, all sewn with equipment that Morgan himself
had made.
 The Safety Hood
and Smoke Protector. On July 25, 1916, Morgan made national news after an
explosion at the Cleveland Waterworks ripped through a tunnel, trapping underground
workers. Deadly gases and heavy smoke filled the underground spaces making it
difficult to rescue the workers. Finally, someone in the crowd remembered a black
man who had won a won a gold medal at the Second International Exposition of Sanitation
and Safety. Morgan had received a patent for his gas mask and had begun to sell it, but
when it was discovered that he was black, many orders were cancelled. However,
Morgan continued to perfect his mask.
After the rescue, Morgan's company received
requests from fire departments around the country who wished to purchase the new masks.
The Morgan gas mask was later refined for use by the U.S. Army during World War I.
In 1921, Morgan was awarded a patent for a Safety Hood and Smoke Protector. Two years
later, a refined model of his early gas mask won a gold medal at the International
Exposition of Sanitation and Safety, and another gold medal from the International
Association of Fire Chiefs.
In 1920 Morgan moved into the newspaper business
when he established the Cleveland Call. As the years went on, he became a
prosperous and widely respected business man, and he was able to purchase a home and an
automobile. Indeed it was Morgan's experience while driving along the streets of Cleveland
that led to the invention the nation's first patented traffic signal. |
The Garrett Morgan Traffic
Signal. The first American- made automobiles were introduced to U.S. consumers shortly
before the turn of the century. The Ford Motor Company was founded in 1903 and with it
American consumers began to discover the adventures of the open road. 
In the early years of the 20th century, it was
not uncommon for bicycles, animal-powered wagons and new gasoline-powered motor vehicles
to share the same streets and roadways with pedestrians. Accidents were frequent. After
witnessing a collision between an automobile and a horse-drawn carriage, Morgan was
convinced that something should be done to improve traffic safety.
While other inventors are reported to have
experimented with and even marketed traffic signals, Garrett A. Morgan was the first to
apply for and acquire a U.S. patent for such a device. The patent was granted on November
20, 1923. Morgan later had the technology patented in Great Britain and Canada as well.
The Morgan traffic signal was a T-shaped pole
unit that featured three positions: Stop, Go and an all-directional stop position. This
“third position” halted traffic in all directions to allow pedestrians to cross
streets more safely.
Morgan's traffic management device was used
throughout North America until it was replaced by the red, yellow and green-light traffic
signals currently used around the world. The inventor sold the rights to his traffic
signal to the General Electric Corporation for $40,000. Shortly before his death, in 1963,
Morgan was awarded a citation for his traffic signal by the United States Government.
Other Morgan Inventions. Garrett Morgan
was constantly experimenting to develop new concepts. Though the traffic signal came at
the height of his career and became one of his most renowned inventions, it was just one
of several innovations he developed, manufactured and sold over the years.
Morgan invented a zig-zag stitching attachment
for manually operated sewing machine. He also founded a company that made personal
grooming products, such as hair dying ointments and the curved-tooth pressing comb.
It is hard to estimate how many lives were saved
by Morgan's inventions. He received many awards and citations for his
inventions. At the Emancipation Centinnial Celebration in Chicago, Illinois in
August of 1963, Morgan was nationally recognized. Morgan did not attend.
Garrett A. Morgan died on August 27, 1963, at
the age of 86. His life was long and full, and his creative energies have given us a
marvelous and lasting legacy. |
Phone: (216) 281-6188