Timeline

Garrett Augustus Morgan African American Inventor, Businessman, born in Paris, Kentucky, on March 4, 1877

1895 at Age 14 Morgan moves to Cleveland, Ohio

1907 specializes in sewing machine sales and repair after working for several companies opens his own business

1908 Marries, Mary Anne Hassek, eventually have three sons together

1909 Invents hair straightening product

1909 Own his own Tailoring Shop

1909 G. A. Morgan Refining Company

1912 invents Breathing devise, or safety hood, later becomes the Gas Mask,

1914 registers patent for the Breathing Devise.

1920 Began  began publishing the Cleveland Call, news paper

1923 Invents the Traffic light, registers patent in the United States, Britain and Canada

Active member of National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

Morgan dies August 27, 1963 His inventions saved many lives.

Garret Augustus Morgan

Inventor and Businessman.

Invented life saving devices like the Traffic Light and the Gas Mask

Garret Morgan, the child of two former slaves, was born in Paris, Kentucky, on March 4, 1877. He was the seventh of eleven children born to Sydney Morgan, a former slave who was freed in 1863, and Elizabeth (Reed) Morgan.

Garrett Morgan's family lived on a farm and he and his siblings had to work along with their parents. Garrett proved to be very smart since he was very young and he did not want to grow old working on the farm. When Morgan was 14 years old he left the farm and went to live in Cleveland Ohio.

Morgan didn't have an education, he taught himself to repair sewing machines. He worked for different companies. He was very successful that he opened his own business. in the clothing industry, he would make dresses and suits. He was very successful and became wealthy.

While he was working on the clothing industry, he invented a product. The needles on the sewing machines would move so fast that the friction would scorch the fabric. He invented a concoction that would relax the hair preventing the problem working with wool.

 Morgan first tried the concoction on a dog. He finally tried the new solution on his own hair. The solution worked on his hair. Morgan started, G. A. Morgan Refining Company,he made several hair products.

In 1912 Morgan invented a safety hood, he got a patent in 1914 for it. U.S army made some improvements to the safety hood and called a Gas Mask. Morgan got to test the safety mask when there was and explosion on an Erie Lake tunnel, filled with noxious gases, he was able to rescue more than 30 men. The news about the rescue with the mask got around and soon he had many orders, from firefighter and police departments.

One day Morgan witnessed a horse carriage, and automobile accident at a four-way street crossing. He went to work on some ideas of how to create a safety device to control traffic and he invented a street traffic light.

Morgan got a patent for the traffic light. He sold the rights to his invention to the General Electric Company.