Inventor Garrett Morgan Created the Gas Mask and Traffic Signal
Garrett A. Morgan was an American inventor and businessman. He was born in Kentucky in 1877. Morgan is best known for inventing the gas mask and the traffic signal. After moving to Cleveland in 1895, he started his own sewing machine repair business. He eventually expanded his business to include a tailoring shop. In 1914, he patented the gas mask, which was used by firefighters and later by soldiers in World War I. The gas mask became his most famous invention and brought him great financial success. In 1923, Morgan patented a traffic signal that was similar to the modern-day stoplight. He sold the rights to the traffic signal to the General Electric Company for $40,000. (Which is more like $706,659.52 after modern inflation!) However, despite making a lot of money off of his inventions, we never hear about him in history class.