The lives of Black individuals during a time when racial discrimination weighed heavily on American society were far from easy, yet Garrett Morgan overcame numerous challenges to achieve groundbreaking inventions in the early 20th century.
However, at that time, very few people were aware of his accomplishments.
Rising Above Adversity
Born in 1877 in Kentucky, Morgan was the middle child in a family of 11 children. Despite facing financial hardships, he overcame many obstacles to rise in life. After completing elementary school, Morgan left home for Ohio, where he worked as a laborer for a white employer, using his earnings to hire a tutor and continue his education.
Before long, the factories in Ohio caught Morgan’s attention. He secured a job at a sewing machine manufacturing facility. During this time, he tinkered with the machines, learning how they operated and finding ways to repair them. As a result, he received a patent for an improved sewing machine and started his own repair business in 1907.
Occasionally, his sewing machines would scorch fabric due to the speed of the needle. To address this flaw, Morgan experimented with a chemical solution to reduce the friction caused by the needle.
After realizing that this solution also straightened wool fibers, he tested it on dog fur, which led to the establishment of GA Morgan Hair Refining Company, specializing in hair cream for Black customers, yielding high profits.
Inventing the Gas Mask
Garrett Morgan (1877 – 1963).
In 1911, a fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory killed 150 garment workers, prompting Morgan to think of ways to reduce casualties in fires.
Knowing that the cleanest air during a fire can be found close to the ground, he created a hood with hanging tubes that allowed the wearer to inhale cleaner air.
Morgan received a patent for the safety hood in 1914. Over 500 cities purchased this product, but Morgan found it challenging to sell his invention in many states due to his race.
Undeterred, he hired a white actor to portray the inventor while he concealed his identity inside a safety hood and entered a smoke-filled tent to demonstrate the product’s effectiveness. This idea proved successful, and he sold many units.
In 1916, a natural gas explosion occurred in a water supply tunnel under Lake Erie in Cleveland, trapping and killing many workers inside. Rescue teams rushed in to save them, but over half of them perished from suffocation.
The Cleveland police called Garrett Morgan, and the inventor rushed to the scene with as many safety hoods as he could carry. Along with his brother Frank, Morgan entered the tunnel and managed to rescue two people while recovering four bodies before the rescue efforts were halted.
However, the following day, the front-page stories in the New York Times and other major newspapers did not mention Morgan. Supervisors and others received large cash rewards, medals, and praise in articles, while Morgan was overlooked.
It wasn’t until days later that Morgan’s heroic actions were recognized by the media, but this recognition had a “double-edged sword.” Many of Morgan’s customers, who were unaware of his race before the stories circulated in the news, began to boycott his products.
Nonetheless, this setback was not significant. Morgan’s sharp mind and strong work ethic provided him with the financial stability to continue his inventive pursuits.
Improving Traffic Signals
Throughout his life, Morgan created many inventions but received very little recognition in return. The rampant racism of the time meant that his efforts went largely unnoticed. However, Morgan rose above it all, inventing things to help others and engaging in humanitarian efforts for his community.
Although Garrett Morgan did not receive a patent for the first traffic signal, his contributions made a significant impact on improving these signals. At that time, there were signs indicating when drivers should stop and when they should go, but Morgan felt there was a need for something more advanced.
An accident in the early 1920s prompted him to research and add a yellow light between the green and red lights to warn drivers that they would soon need to stop.
In 1923, Morgan received a patent for his new traffic signal, attracting the interest of General Electric, which offered a substantial sum to purchase the idea. Morgan donated $40,000 in royalties to Black universities.
Morgan joined the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) and founded the Cleveland Call, a newspaper for Black readers. He also established a club for Black individuals and fully supported the universities in his community.
After a failed first marriage, Morgan married Mary Anne Hasek, a German woman, in 1908, and they had three children together.
In 1943, Morgan began to develop glaucoma, resulting in nearly complete loss of vision. The pioneering inventor passed away in Cleveland, Ohio, on July 27, 1963, just before the 100th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, an event he had eagerly awaited.
Just before his death, Morgan was honored by the United States Government for his invention of the traffic signal and was restored to his rightful place in history as a hero of the Erie rescue.
