Garrett Morgan was involved in African Americans' civic and political advancement, especially in and around Cleveland, Ohio.
38 Facts About Garrett Morgan
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Garrett Morgan was born in 1877 in Paris, Kentucky, an almost exclusively African American community.
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Garrett Morgan's father was Sydney Morgan, a son and freed slave of Confederate General John H Morgan of Morgan's Raiders.
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Garrett Morgan received a sixth grade education at Branch Elementary School in Claysville, Kentucky.
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Garrett Morgan spent most of his teenage years working as a handyman for a Cincinnati landowner.
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Garrett Morgan hired a tutor and continued his studies while working in Cincinnati.
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Garrett Morgan's first invention, made during this period, was a belt fastener for sewing machines.
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In 1909, he and his second wife, Czech-immigrant Mary Anne Hassek, opened Garrett Morgan's Cut Rate Ladies Clothing Store.
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In 1913, he incorporated hair care products into his growing list of patents and launched the G A Morgan Hair Refining Company, which sold hair care products, including his patented hair straightening cream, hair coloring, and a hair straightening comb invented by Morgan.
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In 1923, Garrett Morgan designed a traffic signal after witnessing a horrible crash at an intersection.
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Garrett Morgan eventually sold the rights to General Electric for $40,000.
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Garrett Morgan had poor health the rest of his life, but continued to work on his inventions.
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Garrett Morgan is buried at the Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland.
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Garrett Morgan conducted experiments with a liquid that gave sewing machine needles a high polish, that prevented the needle from burning fabric as it sewed.
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In 1905, Garrett Morgan accidentally discovered that the liquid could straighten hair.
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Garrett Morgan observed that the liquid worked on his neighbor's dog and his own hair.
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Garrett Morgan made the liquid into a refining cream and launched the G A Morgan Hair Refining Company to market it.
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Garrett Morgan received great success and added other products including "hair-growing" cream, black hair oil dye, and a curved-tooth comb for hair straightening in 1910.
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Garrett Morgan designed a manually-operated traffic signal with moving arms featuring "stop" and "go" signs, which could be placed on a post at traffic intersections.
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Garrett Morgan later sold the rights to General Electric for $40,000.
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Garrett Morgan invented a "safety hood smoke protection device" after seeing firefighters struggling to withstand the suffocating smoke they encountered in the line of duty.
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Garrett Morgan's device used a moist sponge to filter out smoke and cool the air.
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Garrett Morgan was able to sell his invention around the country, sometimes using the tactic of hiring a white actor, who would take credit rather than revealing himself as its inventor.
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Garrett Morgan developed later models that incorporated an airbag, that could hold about 15 minutes of fresh air.
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Garrett Morgan was roused in the middle of the night after one of the members of the rescue team who had seen a demonstration of his device sent a messenger to convince him to come and to bring as many of his Safety Hoods as he could.
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Garrett Morgan emerged carrying a victim on his back, and his brother followed just behind with another.
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Garrett Morgan's device was used to retrieve the bodies of the rescuers that did not survive.
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Garrett Morgan personally made four trips into the tunnel during the rescue, and his health was affected for years afterward from the fumes he encountered there.
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Cleveland newspapers and city officials initially ignored Garrett Morgan's act of heroism as the first to rush into the tunnel for the rescue, and the key role he played as the provider of the equipment that made the rescue possible.
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Garrett Morgan was given a medal from the International Association of Fire Engineers, which made him an honorary member.
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Garrett Morgan was a member of the NAACP and donated money to historically black colleges and universities.
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In 1920, Garrett Morgan founded the Cleveland Call, a weekly newspaper.
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Garrett Morgan purchased a farm near Wakeman, Ohio, and upon that land build the Wakeman Country Club, open to Blacks, unlike most country clubs then.
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Garrett Morgan was a member of the Prince Hall Freemasons, in Excelsior Lodge No 11 of Cleveland, Ohio.
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In 1931, believing that Cleveland was not properly addressing the needs of its African American citizens, Garrett Morgan ran for a seat on the Cleveland City Council as an independent, but was not elected.
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At the Emancipation Centennial Celebration in Chicago, Illinois, in August 1963, one month after his death, Garrett Morgan was nationally recognized.
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Garrett Morgan was included in the 2002 book 100 Greatest African Americans by Molefi Kete Asante.
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Garrett Morgan is an honorary member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.