Who Received a Patent for a "Gas Mask"? - Garrett Augustus Morgan

 

Garrett Augustus Morgan

March 4, 1877 – July 27, 1963

Here is a man born to parents owned by slave owners, but never let his circumstance dictate what or who he would become.

 

Early Life and Education

Morgan was born in 1877 in Paris, Kentucky, in an African American community. His father was a son and freed slave of Confederate General John H. Morgan and so he got the surname of his owner.  His mother was also a freed slave and daughter of Rev. Garrett Reed. Garrett Morgan was the seventh of 11 children and had to leave school after completing only the sixth grade. And at the age of 14 years old went out to search for employment. 

He worked as a handyman for a landowner in Cincinnati, OH. He was able to hire a tutor to continue his studies while working in Cincinnati. In 1895, he moved to Cleveland, where he began repairing sewing machines for a clothing manufacturer. Like most young men he was interested in how things worked and so he developed a reputation for fixing them. His first invention, made during this period, was a belt fastener for sewing machines.  He also invented a zigzag attachment for sewing machines.

In 1907, Morgan opened a sewing machine shop. One year later, more conscious of his heritage, he helped start the Cleveland Association of Colored Men in 1908.  One year later, he and his wife Mary Anne, opened Morgan's Cut Rate Ladies Clothing Store. The shop made coats, suits, dresses, and other clothing, and ultimately had 32 employees.  

Around 1910, he was no longer interested in repairing other people's inventions. He became interested in developing some of his own. He received his first patent in 1912. 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. He received a patent in 1914 for a smoke protection device also known as a "gas mask." That same year, he launched the National Safety Device Company. "Morgan's breathing device became the prototype and precursor for the gas masks used during World War I, protecting soldiers from toxic gas used in warfare. The invention earned him the first prize at the Second International Exposition of Safety and Sanitation in New York City. In 1916, Morgan rescued workers trapped in a water intake tunnel 50 ft (15 m) beneath Lake Erie, using the smoke hood to protect his eyes from smoke and featuring a series of air tubes that hung near the ground to draw clean air beneath the rising smoke.

He also created a traffic signal (his most notably creation) in 1923 after witnessing an accident at an intersection. This traffic signal includes a warning light to let motorists know that the light was about to change, instead of the traditional "go" and "stop" red/green lights.   He sold the rights to General Electric for $40,000.00.  He acquires three patents in the United States, Canada and Great Britain. 

He developed glaucoma later in life and by 1943 was functionally blind. He had poor health the rest of his life but continued to work on his inventions. One of his last was a self-extinguishing cigarette, which used a small plastic pellet filled with water placed just before the filter. He died on July 27, 1963, at age 86 and was buried at the Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland.

Source: Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garrett_Morgan