Garrett A. Morgan
(1877-1963)

Garrett A. Morgan was born in Paris, Kentucky, on March 4, 1877 and later moved to Cleveland where he spent most of his youth. He played an integral role in the shaping of America. One day he witnessed a two-car collision on a main intersection. Two people were badly injured and the driver rendered unconscious. Morgan pondered the dilemma for awhile and later devised the method that would eliminate the problem. He invented the three-color traffic signal, which ultimately became the pervasive traffic light. He sold the patent rights to General Electric for $40,000.

Among the varied list of his creation prowess include a woman's hat fastener, a round belt fastener, and a friction drive belt.

As the years passed, Morgan sharpened his skill and expertise. This renewed acuity allowed him to open a tailoring shop manufacturing dresses, suits and, coats. It was this chance opportunity that gave rise to the first human-hair straightener which was marketed as the G. A. Morgan Hair Refining Cream.

Nothing, however, could attest to the genius of the man more than his invention of the gas mask in 1912. The device consisted of a hood placed over the head of the user. A tube from this hood was provided with an inlet opening for air to reach the victim. A tunnel explosion gave Morgan and his brother Frank a chance to exhibit the device which they did in dramatic rescues. Newspapers reported the rescue. But it also showed the pictures of the inventors.

At first orders poured in from all over the United States, especially from coal mining companies. When it was found out that the inventor was an African-American, all orders were cancelled. To meet this challenge, Morgan first presented himself as Big Chief Mason, a Native American, which resulted in some re-ordering. But the only way he found to sell to white people, including the United States Army, Morgan had to employ the services of a white man, posing as the inventor, which cut into Morgan's profits dramatically.

During World War I, Morgan's gas inhalator, as it was commonly referred to, was improved upon and emerged as the quality product that the U.S. Army used successfully on the battlefield to save the lives of thousands of our soldiers.

After two years of struggling with glaucoma, the brilliant torch-bearer died on July 27,1963 at the age of eighty-six.