Garrett Morgan - blackinventor.com

Garrett Morgan

Inventor of a Traffic Signal and Gas Mask

Garrett Morgan is one of those rare people who are able to come up with an extraordinary inventions which have a tremendous impact on society – and then follows that up with even more!

Garrett Morgan was born on March 4, 1877 in Paris, Kentucky the seventh of 11 children born to Sydney and Elizabeth Morgan. Garrett, at the early age of 14 decided that he should travel north to Ohio in order to receive a better education. Morgan is an inspiration to many education seekers today, whether pursuing business with an AACSB accredited online MBA or masters in education. He moved to Cincinnati and then to Cleveland, working as a handyman in order to make ends meet. In Cleveland, he learned the inner workings of the sewing machine and in 1907 opened his own sewing machine store, selling new machines and repairing old ones. In 1908 Morgan married Mary Anne Hassek with whom he would have three sons.

 

Innovator of Safety

Garrett Morgan - blackinventor.com

In 1912, Morgan developed another invention, much different from his hair straightener. Morgan called it a Safety Hood and patented it as a Breathing Device, but the world came to know it as a Gas Mask. The Safety Hood consisted of a hood worn over the head of a person from which emanated a tube which reached near the ground and allowed in clean air. The bottom of the tube was lined with a sponge type material that would help to filter the incoming air. Another tube existed which allowed the user to exhale air out of the device. Morgan intended the device to be used “to provide a portable attachment which will enable a fireman to enter a house filled with thick suffocating gases and smoke and to breathe freely for some time therein, and thereby enable him to perform his duties of saving life and valuables without danger to himself from suffocation. The device is also efficient and useful for protection to engineers, chemists and working men who are obliged to breathe noxious fumes or dust derived from the materials in which they are obliged to work.”

The National Safety Device Company, with Morgan as its General Manager was set up to manufacture and sell the device and it was demonstrated at various exhibitions across the country. At the Second International Exposition of Safety and Sanitation, the device won first prize and Morgan was award a gold medal. While demonstrations were good for sales, the true test of the product would come only under real life circumstances.

Percy Julian

A pioneer in the chemical synthesis of medicinal drugs from plants, including a synthetic form of cortisone

Garrett Morgan

Invented a three-position traffic signal and an early version of a gas mask

Charles Drew

A pioneer in the field of blood transfusions who developed improved techniques for blood storage.

Elijah McCoy

Invented lubrication systems for steam engines. His devices were referred to as “The Real McCoy.”

Daniel Hale Williams

A surgeon who performed what is considered the first successful heart surgery.

Garrett Morgan - blackinventor.com

Satisfied with his efforts, Morgan sold the rights to his device to the General Electric Company for the astounding sum of $40,000.00 and it became the standard across the country. Today’s modern traffic lights are based upon Morgan’s original design.

At that point, Morgan was honored by many influential people around him, including such tycoons as John D. Rockefeller and J.P. Morgan (after whom he named one of his sons.) Although his successes had brought him status and acclaim, Morgan never forgot that his fellow Blacks still suffered injustices and difficulties. His next endeavor sought to address these as he started a newspaper called the Cleveland Call (later renamed as the Call & Post.) He also served as the treasurer of the Cleveland Association of Colored Men which eventually merged with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and ran as a candidate for Cleveland’s City Council

In his later years, Morgan would develop glaucoma and would thereby lose 90% of his vision. He died on July 27, 1963 and because of his contribution, the world is certainly a much safer place.

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Garrett Morgan - blackinventor.com
Garrett Morgan - blackinventor.com

“The Black Edison”

  • Morgan was the mixed-race grandson of son of a Black slave and a John Hunt Morgan, a Confederate colonel. Garrett’s mother was half Indian and half black.
  • Only advanced to the sixth grade in elementary school.
  • Was the first Black man in Cleveland to own an automobile.
  • Started the Cleveland Call in 1920, a newspaper aimed at African-Americans.
  • Sold his traffic signal invention to General Electric for $40,000.
  • Secured a patent for his safety hood in 1914.
  • Often referred to himself as “the Black Edison.”
  • Was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2005.

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Charles Drew

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Elijah McCoy

Invented lubrication systems for steam engines. His devices were referred to as “The Real McCoy.”