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Garrett Morgan was an inventor and businessman
from Cleveland who is best known for inventing a device called the
Morgan safety hood and smoke protector in 1914.
Morgan's formal education never took him
beyond elementary school, he hired a tutor while living in Cincinnati
and continued his studies in English grammar. In 1895, Morgan moved to
Cleveland, Ohio, where he went to work 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.
On July 25, 1916, Garrett Morgan made
national news for using his gas mask to rescue 32 men trapped during an
explosion in an underground tunnel 250 feet beneath Lake Erie. After
witnessing a collision between an automobile and a horse-drawn carriage,
Garrett Morgan took his turn at inventing a traffic signal. Other
inventors had experimented with, marketed, and even patented traffic
signals, however, Garrett Morgan was one of the first to apply for and
acquire a
U.S. patent for
an inexpensive to produce traffic signal.
The patent was granted on November 20, 1923.
Garrett Morgan also had his invention patented in Great Britain and
Canada. Garrett Morgan stated in his patent for the traffic signal,
"This invention relates to traffic signals, and particularly to those
which are adapted to be positioned adjacent the intersection of two or
more streets and are manually operable for directing the flow of
traffic... In addition, my invention contemplates the provision of a
signal which may be readily and cheaply manufactured."
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