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Garrett Morgan

Garrett Augustus Morgan (March 4, 1877 – July 27, 1963) was an African American inventor and businessman recognized for developing practical safety devices in the early . Born in , to formerly enslaved parents, Morgan had limited formal education but relocated to , , in 1895, where he worked as a repairman and later established his own business. His most significant invention was a breathing device, patented in 1914 as U.S. Patent No. 1,113,675, consisting of a hood connected to a hose that filtered air through water and a sponge to remove smoke and toxic gases, enabling safer entry into hazardous environments. This device proved effective during the 1916 waterworks tunnel explosion, where Morgan and others used it to rescue trapped workers, demonstrating its utility in real-world emergencies despite rudimentary design limitations compared to later gas masks. In 1923, observing a severe accident, he patented an improved signal under U.S. Patent No. 1,475,024, featuring a T-shaped arm with "stop," "go," and an intermediate "all-stop" position to halt cross- and prevent collisions during turns, marking an early addition of a cautionary phase to semaphore-style signals. Morgan sold rights to this signal to , contributing to the evolution of modern control, though his model was manually operated and eventually superseded by electric automated systems. He also innovated in with a chemical straightener derived from observing a signal effect on wool, and pursued other mechanical improvements, reflecting self-taught ingenuity amid racial barriers that limited his commercial success.

Early Life and Background

Family Origins and Childhood

Garrett Augustus Morgan was born on March 4, 1877, in , to parents Morgan and Elizabeth Reed Morgan, both of whom had been enslaved prior to the . His father, Sydney, was a farmer of descent, while his mother, Elizabeth, was the daughter of a Baptist minister and had mixed Native American and ancestry. As the seventh of eleven children in a rural farming family, Morgan grew up performing agricultural labor from an early age, which shaped his initial experiences in a post-emancipation Southern community still marked by economic hardship for Black families. Morgan's formal education was limited to a few years of elementary schooling, ending around age ten or eleven, after which he contributed fully to farm work and household responsibilities. This brevity of schooling reflected common constraints for children in late-19th-century , where access to was restricted by , , and labor demands, fostering Morgan's later reliance on self-directed learning. Claims that his father was the son of Confederate General have circulated but lack verified primary evidence and appear rooted in unconfirmed family lore rather than documented .

Self-Education and Formative Experiences

Morgan completed only a sixth-grade education at Branch Elementary School in Claysville, , before leaving formal schooling to contribute to his family's labor as a child of former slaves. At age 14, around 1891, he departed rural for , , seeking employment and independence, where he initially worked as a for a local landowner. In , Morgan pursued self-directed learning by hiring a private tutor to supplement his elementary foundation, demonstrating an early commitment to intellectual growth despite limited resources. This period also involved hands-on skill acquisition; while repairing sewing machines in various jobs, he dissected their mechanisms to understand internal operations, fostering a problem-solving rooted in empirical rather than theoretical instruction. These formative experiences—marked by abrupt entry into manual labor, targeted tutoring, and mechanical experimentation—instilled resilience and ingenuity, qualities that later propelled his inventions amid racial and economic barriers. Morgan's approach emphasized practical experimentation over institutional learning, as evidenced by his subsequent relocation to in 1895 and entry into tailoring, where self-taught repairs evolved into entrepreneurial ventures.

Career Beginnings in Cleveland

Initial Employment and Skill Acquisition

In 1895, at age 18, Garrett Morgan relocated from to , , seeking greater economic opportunities, and initially secured employment sweeping floors at the Roots and McBride Company, a firm involved in manufacturing. This entry-level position provided basic stability but limited technical exposure, prompting Morgan to transition into more skilled labor within the city's burgeoning garment industry. Morgan soon found work as a sewing machine repairman for a clothing manufacturer, including stints at companies like H. Black Company, where he honed mechanical skills through hands-on disassembly, troubleshooting, and reassembly of complex machinery. His aptitude in this role stemmed from prior informal experience repairing tools and farm equipment during his teenage years in , combined with self-directed observation of industrial processes. This period marked the acquisition of practical engineering knowledge, as Morgan experimented with modifications to enhance efficiency, such as developing an early to prevent slippage in operations. Through persistent self-education and on-the-job problem-solving, Morgan built expertise in without formal training, laying the groundwork for independent ; by the early , these skills enabled him to establish his own repair shop, further refining his inventive capabilities.

Tailoring Business and Early Entrepreneurship

In 1907, Garrett Morgan established his first independent venture in , , opening a shop specializing in the repair and sale of s, building on his prior experience as a sewing machine mechanic for local manufacturers. This enterprise marked his transition from wage labor to , capitalizing on the demand for reliable machinery in the garment industry during 's industrial expansion. By 1909, Morgan expanded into tailoring and clothing manufacturing, partnering with his second wife, Mary Anne Hassek, who brought expertise in sewing and garment work; together, they launched a shop producing women's clothing such as skirts, coats, suits, and dresses under names like the Morgan Skirt Company or Morgan's Cut Rate Ladies Clothing Store. The business operated on West Sixth Street, offering repair services alongside custom and ready-to-wear production, which allowed Morgan to observe practical challenges in textile processing that later informed his inventions. The tailoring operation grew steadily, employing over 30 workers by the early and demonstrating Morgan's acumen in scaling a small service-based into a modest concern amid competition from larger factories. This phase of provided financial stability and hands-on exposure to industrial techniques, positioning Morgan as a self-reliant businessman in a city with a burgeoning African American entrepreneurial class. By 1913, the enterprise had formalized as the G.A. Morgan Company, further diversifying into broader clothing lines while maintaining a focus on quality and affordability.

Development of Hair Care Innovations

Invention of the Hair Refining Process

Garrett Morgan developed his hair refining process while employed as a sewing machine repairman and tailor in , , where he sought to address scorching of woolen fabrics by hot needles during stitching. In an effort to create a lubricant or coating for needles, Morgan experimented with a chemical solution applied to fabric fibers, which unexpectedly straightened the threads rather than merely protecting them from heat. This observation occurred around , prompting Morgan to test the solution on human , where it similarly altered curly textures to a straighter form by relaxing and reshaping the structure. The refining process involved applying the solution—later formulated into a cream consisting of active chemicals that softened and realigned shafts—to achieve a semi-permanent straightening effect, distinct from temporary pressing methods using heat alone. Morgan refined the composition through iterative testing to minimize damage to and scalp while enhancing efficacy for coarse, tightly coiled types common among , his . Unlike prior remedies or straighteners, this chemical approach provided longer-lasting results, though it required careful application to avoid brittleness or breakage from over-processing. Morgan did not pursue a utility for the itself, likely treating it as a to protect commercial viability amid limited enforcement for such products at the time. Instead, he incorporated related innovations, such as a specialized with curved teeth to aid even distribution during application, which facilitated the process's precision. This stemmed from practical tailoring experience, where Morgan's self-taught knowledge—gained without formal —enabled causal inference from textile effects to biological fibers, prioritizing empirical trial over theoretical modeling.

Commercialization and Business Impact

In 1913, Garrett Morgan established the G. A. Morgan Hair Refining Company in , , to manufacture and market a chemical hair-straightening cream derived from his 1905 accidental discovery of a solution that relaxed curly while experimenting with lubricants. The product, applied as a cream, targeted African American consumers desiring straighter hair textures, and Morgan handled production himself using custom-built equipment. The company's operations expanded to include related products, achieving commercial success that provided Morgan with ongoing financial security and funded his later inventions, such as the safety hood and traffic signal. Sales were bolstered by targeted marketing within communities, though the business faced challenges from racial , including reluctance from some customers to patronize Black-owned enterprises. Publicity from Morgan's 1916 heroism using his safety hood in a Cleveland tunnel explosion inadvertently harmed hair product sales, as revelations of his racial identity led certain buyers—previously unaware or preferring anonymized ownership—to withdraw support, underscoring the era's systemic barriers to Black entrepreneurship. Despite this, the venture's profitability endured, contributing to Morgan's economic independence amid broader discriminatory practices in early 20th-century commerce.

Invention of the Safety Hood

Design Principles and Patenting

Garrett Morgan's safety hood, patented as a "breathing device," operated on the principle that toxic fumes and smoke rise, leaving relatively cleaner air near the ground. The core design featured a close-fitting hood made of protective material to enclose the user's head and face, connected to a long, flexible tube extending downward to an inlet positioned low to the floor for drawing in breathable air. A sponge or cloth soaked in a chemical solution—derived from Morgan's earlier hair-straightening formula—was inserted within the tube to absorb and neutralize harmful gases and particulates, filtering the incoming air before it reached the user. To prevent rebreathing of exhaled , the device incorporated a system operated by the user's breath, directing intake through one pathway and expelling used air via a separate route or mechanism, ensuring a continuous supply of fresh, filtered oxygen. This separation of and flows addressed a key limitation in prior rudimentary , enhancing usability in prolonged exposure to smoke-filled environments like fires or industrial accidents. Morgan refined the prototype through personal testing, including simulations with chemical irritants, to verify its efficacy in maintaining airtight seals and airflow efficiency. Morgan filed the application for the breathing device on July 25, 1912, and received U.S. No. 1,113,675 on October 13, 1914. The claims emphasized the novel combination of the hooded enclosure, extended air-supply tube with filtration media, and breath-actuated exhaust mechanism, distinguishing it from earlier non-filtering hoods or short-tube designs. Following issuance, Morgan established the National Safety Device Company in 1914 to manufacture and market the hood, initially targeting firefighters and workers, though commercialization faced challenges due to racial affecting sales demonstrations.

Real-World Application and Rescue Efforts

The most prominent real-world application of Garrett Morgan's safety hood occurred during the Waterworks Tunnel Disaster on July 24, 1916, when workers constructing a water intake tunnel beneath , approximately four miles from , encountered a pocket of that ignited, causing an and filling the 9-foot diameter tunnel with toxic fumes and smoke. This incident trapped numerous laborers, leading to multiple fatalities from asphyxiation and gas exposure, with rescue attempts by initial parties failing due to the hazardous conditions. Alerted to the crisis in the early morning hours of , 1916, Morgan quickly gathered several of his safety hoods and proceeded to the site with his brother Frank and a small team, equipping themselves and demonstrating the device's use to and other rescuers. Morgan led multiple entries into the gas-filled tunnel, using the hoods—which filtered air through chemical-soaked sponges to neutralize harmful gases—to retrieve collapsed workers. In one account, the third rescue party, protected by the hoods, successfully recovered eight trapped individuals who would otherwise have perished. Morgan himself made repeated dives into the tunnel, risking his life to drag out victims, though the operation was eventually halted by U.S. Bureau of Mines officials due to escalating dangers. These efforts validated the safety hood's effectiveness in actual emergencies, prompting its adoption by fire departments across the and influencing later designs used in . Despite the life-saving outcomes—Morgan's interventions directly contributed to the survival of several workers—contemporary media coverage downplayed his role amid prevailing racial prejudices, limiting immediate public acclaim for the African American inventor.

Creation of the Traffic Signal

Conceptual Development and Prior Art

Garrett Morgan conceived his traffic signal design after observing a severe collision between an automobile and a horse-drawn carriage at a intersection, where abrupt changes from "go" to "stop" caused vehicles to crash into cross-. This incident highlighted the dangers of binary systems, prompting Morgan to develop a mechanism that introduced an intermediate position to halt simultaneously, allowing safe clearance before resuming flow. His T-shaped, hand-cranked featured three articulated positions—extended horizontally for "stop" in , vertically for "go," and at a 45-degree for "all-stop"—addressing the transition hazards empirically evident in early 20th-century urban . Morgan filed for the on February 27, 1922, refining the concept through practical observation of 's growing vehicular congestion, where he operated as one of the city's first automobile owners. Prior to Morgan's innovation, traffic signals predominantly operated on two-position systems—typically "stop" and "go"—controlled manually by officers using semaphores or flags, which lacked a against failures at intersections. The earliest known signal, installed in in , employed gas-lit semaphores with mechanical arms but adhered to binary commands, prone to errors in high-traffic settings without an all-stop intermediary. In the United States by the early , electric two-position signals had emerged in cities like and , yet these retained the stop-go dichotomy, exacerbating accidents during phase shifts as automobiles proliferated beyond horse-drawn capacities. No verified pre-1923 patents or deployments incorporated Morgan's pivotal third-position halt for bidirectional , distinguishing his as an empirical advancement over extant manual and electric precedents that prioritized simplicity over causal risk mitigation in dynamic intersections.

Patent Details and Market Adoption

Garrett Morgan received U.S. No. 1,475,024 for his signal on , 1923, following an application filed on February 27, 1922. The invention featured a T-shaped pole-mounted device with three positions operated by a hand or means: "stop," "go," and an intermediate all-directional stop to allow vehicles to clear intersections safely without halting cross prematurely. This third position, displaying cautionary semaphores, addressed collision risks during transitions, distinguishing it from stop-go systems. Morgan demonstrated the signal publicly in , , on July 15, 1923, prior to patent issuance, using a working model to showcase its safety benefits to local authorities and investors. He established the G.A. Morgan Safety Patrol Company to manufacture and market the device, securing installations in cities like and . In 1924, Morgan sold the U.S. patent rights to Corporation for $40,000, equivalent to approximately $733,000 in 2025 dollars, enabling broader commercialization. integrated the three-position concept into electric traffic controls, influencing the evolution toward automated red-yellow-green sequences by the late 1920s, though Morgan's mechanical design was gradually superseded by electrical systems. Morgan also obtained patents for the signal in and , expanding its potential international adoption. Despite the sale, the invention's core innovation of an intermediate warning phase contributed to reduced accidents at controlled intersections, as evidenced by subsequent municipal implementations.

Community and Civic Engagement

Organizational Leadership

In 1908, Garrett Morgan co-founded the Cleveland Association of Colored Men, an organization established by Black business and professional leaders to address economic and social challenges faced by the African American community in , . The group focused on combating through lectures, social events, and advocacy for improved conditions, reflecting Morgan's commitment to community upliftment amid widespread and limited opportunities. Morgan served as treasurer of the association, managing its finances during its early operations until it merged with the Cleveland branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in the early 1920s. Following the merger, he continued his involvement with the , contributing to its efforts in civil rights and as a member and supporter. This leadership role underscored Morgan's practical approach to racial progress, prioritizing tangible economic empowerment over abstract ideology, though the association's activities were constrained by the era's systemic barriers.

Political and Advocacy Efforts

Morgan engaged in civic advocacy to advance the interests of African Americans in Cleveland, co-founding the Cleveland Association of Colored Men around 1908 to promote community organization and leadership. He remained active in the group from approximately 1914 until its eventual merger with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). As a supporter of civil rights causes, Morgan joined the shortly after its formation in 1909 and contributed financially to Black colleges, reflecting his commitment to educational upliftment within the community. In 1920, he launched the Cleveland Call newspaper, aimed at providing more accurate and comprehensive coverage of African-American news and issues, addressing perceived deficiencies in reporting. Morgan's efforts extended to broader political engagement, including the establishment of social institutions like a country club for , which fostered networking and advancement opportunities amid . He advocated against and participated in initiatives to enhance civic participation, though he did not hold elected office.

Personal Life and Challenges

Marriages and Family Dynamics

Garrett Morgan entered his first marriage with Madge Nelson on August 3, 1896, in ; the union ended in divorce two years later in 1898, with scant details available on the circumstances or any offspring. In 1908, Morgan married Mary Anne Hasek, a Bohemian-born seamstress who immigrated to the , marking one of Cleveland's earliest documented interracial marriages amid prevailing laws and social norms. The couple collaborated professionally, co-founding a repair and business in 1909 that employed over 30 workers by the 1920s, reflecting a that integrated family and entrepreneurial efforts. Morgan and Hasek had three sons: John Pierpont Morgan, Garrett Augustus Morgan Jr., and Cosmo Hamlin Morgan. The family resided in Cleveland's Black community, where Morgan's inventions and civic activities likely shaped household dynamics, though primary accounts of interpersonal relations remain limited in historical records. Garrett Jr. later pursued and , indicating continuity in public engagement across generations.

Health Decline and Final Years

Morgan's health began to decline significantly following repeated exposure to toxic fumes during the 1916 waterworks tunnel rescue, where he made multiple entries without adequate protection, leading to long-term respiratory and other ailments he attributed to the incident's chemicals. Additional deterioration stemmed from chemical exposures incurred while personally testing prototypes of his safety hood. By 1943, Morgan developed severe , which caused him to lose about 90 percent of his vision and rendered him nearly blind, though he persisted in his inventive pursuits amid these impairments. In his final inventive effort, he focused on a self-extinguishing design incorporating a water-filled tip to halt burning, demonstrating his ongoing commitment to practical innovation despite physical limitations. Morgan succumbed to a protracted illness on July 27, 1963, at the , aged 86.

Legacy and Critical Assessment

Patents, Awards, and Economic Outcomes

Garrett Morgan obtained key for his protective breathing device and traffic control system. On October 13, 1914, he was granted U.S. No. 1,113,675 for a "breathing device" designed to filter out smoke and toxic gases, featuring a hood connected to a hose with a water-soaked sponge for purification. This invention addressed limitations in prior art by enabling prolonged entry into hazardous environments. On November 20, 1923, Morgan received U.S. No. 1,475,024 for a traffic signal with three positions—stop, go, and an intermediate "all stop" to prevent collisions during turns—mounted on a T-shaped pole operated by a hand crank. He also secured in Britain and Canada for the traffic signal. Earlier, in 1913, Morgan developed and hair refining processes through his G.A. Morgan Hair Refining Company, building on chemical formulations for straightening African American hair. Morgan's inventions earned limited contemporary awards, primarily tied to demonstrations and rescues rather than formal innovation prizes. His refined safety hood model received first prize at the 1914 International Exposition of Safety and Sanitation in . For leading rescues during the 1916 Cleveland waterworks tunnel explosion using his hoods, which saved multiple workers from toxic fumes, he was awarded the Medal for heroism and a Medal for Bravery from the City of Erie. Posthumously, in 2005, Morgan was inducted into the for his contributions to public safety devices. In 1963, shortly before his death, he was honored as a pioneering citizen at Cleveland's Emancipation Centennial Celebration. Economically, Morgan's inventions yielded modest returns amid racial barriers to marketing and adoption. He sold rights to the traffic signal to for $40,000 shortly after patenting, equivalent to over $700,000 in contemporary value, which funded land purchases and community ventures like the Wakeman . The safety hood, marketed via the National Safety Device Company, saw sales including orders to fire departments, such as six units to , but required deceptive tactics—like hiring white actors to demonstrate the device—to overcome buyer against Black inventors. His business provided steadier income through and in , enabling investment in further inventions, though overall prosperity was constrained by segregation-era discrimination limiting broader commercial scaling.

Broader Societal Impact and Historical Evaluations

Morgan's traffic signal, patented on November 20, 1923, introduced a third "all-stop" position that halted traffic in all directions, enabling safer crossings and reducing intersection collisions compared to prior two-position systems. This design facilitated the evolution of automated , influencing widespread adoption of phases in modern signals and contributing to lower accident rates as vehicular traffic surged in the early . The safety hood, patented in 1914 as U.S. Patent 1,113,675, provided respiratory protection in smoke-filled environments, demonstrating practical value during the July 25, 1916, explosion in Cleveland's water intake tunnel, where Morgan equipped rescuers and personally retrieved multiple trapped workers, saving at least eight lives amid toxic fumes. Its hood-and-tube mechanism prefigured gas masks used by U.S. forces in and later by firefighters, markedly decreasing fatalities from inhalation hazards in industrial accidents and conflagrations. Evaluations of Morgan's work emphasize its role in advancing public safety amid era-specific challenges like rising automobile use and hazardous labor conditions, with his devices addressing causal risks—smoke toxicity and chaotic intersections—through empirical testing rather than theoretical ideals. Historians note that racial curtailed broader , as demonstrations faced despite verified rescues, yet affirm the inventions' enduring technical merits in averting harm. Morgan's induction into the underscores retrospective recognition of these contributions as foundational to protective technologies, independent of contemporary barriers to adoption.

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