Black History Fact

Morgan achieved a lot after being born the son of former slaves.  On November 20, 1923, inventor and publisher Garrett Augustus Morgan patented the three position traffic signal. 

The ingenuity of this signal enabled traffic to do something at intersections other than stop and go forward.  The General Electric Corporation bought the rights for the traffic signal from Morgan for $40,000.   Morgan was one of America's greatest inventors, also inventing and patented the gas mask.  

Several men were rescued on July 25, 1916 when iMorgan was called to help men who were trapped 250 feet underground below Lake Erie after an explosion.  Morgan along with his brother Frank and other volunteers assisting in the rescue while wearing Morgan's Gas Mask. Morgan received national publicity after this rescue and requests from fire departments around the country for his invention.

The U.S. Army used the updated mask during World War…