Garrett Morgan

Garrett Augustus Morgan (1877 to 1963) was an American inventor and entrepreneur who pioneered the safety hood, the forerunner of the gas mask, and the mechanical three-way traffic signal. Born on 4 March 1877 in Paris, Kentucky, the seventh of 11 children, he grew up working on his family farm, moved to Cincinnati in 1891 and to Cleveland in 1895, where he took a job sweeping floors at the Roots and McBride Company. He taught himself to operate and repair the company's sewing machines and found inspiration for his first invention, a belt fastener for sewing machines. In 1907 he started his own business repairing and selling sewing machines. His inventions are covered by U.S. Patent Nos. 1,090,936 and 1,475,024. He was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2005 and died on 27 July 1963.