Black History Month

Garrett Augustus Morgan Inventor (1877-1963) Garrett Augustus Morgan, Sr. was an American inventor whose curiosity and innovation led him to develop several commercial products, the successors of which are still in use today. A practical man of humble beginnings, Morgan devoted his life to creating items that made the lives of common people safer and more convenient. Among his creation was the three-position traffic signal, a traffic management device that greatly improved safety along America’s streets and roadways. Morgan’s technology was the basis for the modern-day traffic signal and was a significant contribution to development of what we now know as Intelligent Transportation Systems. Garrett Augustus Morgan, Sr. was born in Paris, Kentucky on March 4,1877. His parents were former slaves. Morgan spent his early childhood attending school and working with his brothers and sisters on the family farm. He left Kentucky while still a teenager, moving north to Cincinnati, Ohio in search of employment. An industrious youth, Morgan spent most of his adolescence working as a handyman or a wealthy Cincinnati landowner. Similar to many African Americans of his generation, whose circumstances compelled them to begin working at an early age, Morgan’s formal education ended after elementary school. Eager to expand his knowledge, however, the precocious teenager hired a tutor and continued his studies in English grammar while living in Cincinnati. In 1895, Morgan moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where he worked as a sewing machine repair man for a clothing manufacture. Experimenting with gadgets and materials to discover better was of performing his trade became Morgan’s passion. News of his proficiency for fixing things traveled fast and led to numerous job opportunities with various manufacturing firms throughout the Cleveland area. Morgan opened his own sewing equipment and repair shop in 1907. It was the first of several businesses he would start. In 1909, he expanded the enterprise to include a tailoring shop which retained 32 employees. The new company made coats, suits and dresses, all sewn with equipment and widely respected businessman. His prosperity enabled him to purchase a home and an automobile. Morgan’s experiences driving through the streets of Cleveland are what led him to invent the nation’s first patented three-position traffic signal.