Garrett Morgan
Garrett Morgan was born on March 4th, 1877 in Paris, Kentucky. He was the seventh out of eleven children in his family. His mom was Elizabeth Morgan. She is an Indian and African decedent. She is also a daughter of a Baptist minister. There isn’t enough information to show us if his dad was Confederate Colonel John Hunt Morgan or Sydney Morgan (former slave freed in 1863).
In his mid-teens, Garrett moved to Cincinnati, OH to look for work. He worked as a handyman to a wealthy landowner. He only received an elementary school education. Sewing machine factories began to interest him a lot. Due to this, he learned how to use and fix the machines. His sewing machine interests got him to start his own business. This got him to marry a Bavarian woman, Mary Anne Hassek. In the marriage, they would have a total of three sons.
His career would allow him to gain his financial freedom. In 1909, Morgan worked with sewing machines in a newly opened tailoring shop. Mary worked with him. She had some experience as a seamstress. Morgan ran into a problem with the sewing machines when woolen fabric was scorched by a sewing-machine needle. This problem was very common since sewing machines ran at very high speeds. He experimented with a chemical solution to reduce the amount of friction caused by the needle. The solution allowed the hairs of cloth to become straighter. Morgan managed to establish the G.A. Morgan Hair Refining Company. He sold the cream made to African Americans. The success allowed him to pursue other interests in his life. It also brought him financial security.
In 1914, Morgan made a breathing device. It allowed people to breathe easily in the presence of smoke, gases, and other pollutants. It was also very reliable in fires. The breathing device was the prototype and precursor to gas masks used in WWI. It protected our soldiers from toxic gas. It earned the first prize at the Second International Exposition of Safety and Sanitation in New York City. People living the south didn’t buy this because they were unaware of African-American rights. To get people to buy this product, Morgan posed a white actor as “the inventor.” Morgan then posed as a Native American sidekick. He was known as “Big Chief Mason” for the time being. This cover up process was a big success. It managed to get many sales in the process.
In 1916, Cleveland was in the process of drilling a new tunnel under Lake Erie for a fresh water supply. During the drilling, the workers hit a pocket of natural gas. This led to a huge explosion underground, suffocating workers with fumes and dust. Once they heard about this, Morgan and his brother came to the rescue with breathing devices. They managed to save two lives and recover four bodies. His heroic effort hurt his sales due to his African American discovery. Morgan and his brother weren’t recognized for their heroic efforts due to this. They were nominated for the Carnegie Medal, but they weren’t chosen. The explosion reports named other people as the rescuers.
In 1923, Morgan created a new traffic signal with a warning light to tell other drivers to stop. He began developing it after many accidents at a bad intersection. Morgan created the first principles of the modern day 3-way traffic light. It was used in the U.S., Britain, and Canada. Later, the rights have been sold to General Electric for a total of $40,000.
Besides making many inventions, Morgan was also socially active. He supported the African-American community throughout his lifetime. He was also a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Morgan joined the Cleveland Association of Colored Men. Back in 1920, Morgan started an African-American newspaper called the Cleveland Call (later known as the Call and Post).
In 1943, Morgan began developing glaucoma. Due to this, he lost most of his sight. His got his place back as a hero of the Lake Erie rescue. Sadly, Garrett Morgan died on August 27th, 1963, in Cleveland, OH. His death was one month before the annual reading of the Emancipation Proclamation. He has done many good things throughout his live.
Garrett Morgan’s work has shaped the culture we live in today. We currently use his traffic light today. With all the advancements in technology, the 3-way traffic light has kept our driving a lot safer. If this traffic light was never invented, road travel wouldn’t be very safe.
The breathing device that was made a long time ago has played a major role in society today. It has allowed us to invent the gas mask which our soldiers use to help protect our nation. Without the breathing device, things in the United States of America could be very different today.
In his mid-teens, Garrett moved to Cincinnati, OH to look for work. He worked as a handyman to a wealthy landowner. He only received an elementary school education. Sewing machine factories began to interest him a lot. Due to this, he learned how to use and fix the machines. His sewing machine interests got him to start his own business. This got him to marry a Bavarian woman, Mary Anne Hassek. In the marriage, they would have a total of three sons.
His career would allow him to gain his financial freedom. In 1909, Morgan worked with sewing machines in a newly opened tailoring shop. Mary worked with him. She had some experience as a seamstress. Morgan ran into a problem with the sewing machines when woolen fabric was scorched by a sewing-machine needle. This problem was very common since sewing machines ran at very high speeds. He experimented with a chemical solution to reduce the amount of friction caused by the needle. The solution allowed the hairs of cloth to become straighter. Morgan managed to establish the G.A. Morgan Hair Refining Company. He sold the cream made to African Americans. The success allowed him to pursue other interests in his life. It also brought him financial security.
In 1914, Morgan made a breathing device. It allowed people to breathe easily in the presence of smoke, gases, and other pollutants. It was also very reliable in fires. The breathing device was the prototype and precursor to gas masks used in WWI. It protected our soldiers from toxic gas. It earned the first prize at the Second International Exposition of Safety and Sanitation in New York City. People living the south didn’t buy this because they were unaware of African-American rights. To get people to buy this product, Morgan posed a white actor as “the inventor.” Morgan then posed as a Native American sidekick. He was known as “Big Chief Mason” for the time being. This cover up process was a big success. It managed to get many sales in the process.
In 1916, Cleveland was in the process of drilling a new tunnel under Lake Erie for a fresh water supply. During the drilling, the workers hit a pocket of natural gas. This led to a huge explosion underground, suffocating workers with fumes and dust. Once they heard about this, Morgan and his brother came to the rescue with breathing devices. They managed to save two lives and recover four bodies. His heroic effort hurt his sales due to his African American discovery. Morgan and his brother weren’t recognized for their heroic efforts due to this. They were nominated for the Carnegie Medal, but they weren’t chosen. The explosion reports named other people as the rescuers.
In 1923, Morgan created a new traffic signal with a warning light to tell other drivers to stop. He began developing it after many accidents at a bad intersection. Morgan created the first principles of the modern day 3-way traffic light. It was used in the U.S., Britain, and Canada. Later, the rights have been sold to General Electric for a total of $40,000.
Besides making many inventions, Morgan was also socially active. He supported the African-American community throughout his lifetime. He was also a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Morgan joined the Cleveland Association of Colored Men. Back in 1920, Morgan started an African-American newspaper called the Cleveland Call (later known as the Call and Post).
In 1943, Morgan began developing glaucoma. Due to this, he lost most of his sight. His got his place back as a hero of the Lake Erie rescue. Sadly, Garrett Morgan died on August 27th, 1963, in Cleveland, OH. His death was one month before the annual reading of the Emancipation Proclamation. He has done many good things throughout his live.
Garrett Morgan’s work has shaped the culture we live in today. We currently use his traffic light today. With all the advancements in technology, the 3-way traffic light has kept our driving a lot safer. If this traffic light was never invented, road travel wouldn’t be very safe.
The breathing device that was made a long time ago has played a major role in society today. It has allowed us to invent the gas mask which our soldiers use to help protect our nation. Without the breathing device, things in the United States of America could be very different today.
Garrett Morgan's breathing device allowed the gas mask to be invented.
We all use this modern-day traffic light today when driving.
A few years ago, the 95th anniversary for the "Call & Post Newspaper" occured.
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