Garrett Morgan

Morgan conducted experiments with a liquid that gave sewing machine needles a high polish that prevented the needle from burning fabric as it sewed. In 1905, Morgan accidentally discovered that the liquid could also straighten hair.[7] After he discovered this, he wiped the liquid on a piece of pony fur cloth and it stood straight. He also observed that the liquid worked on his neighbor's dog and his own hair.[20] He made the liquid into a refining cream and launched the G. A. Morgan Hair Refining Company to market it. 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.[13]

Following the success of his company, Morgan became a well-known citizen in Cleveland and achieved financial success leading to his purchasing of a new automobile. In 1922, he witnessed an accident between a horse-drawn carriage and a car which sparked inspiration to prevent the likelihood of future events occurring. The traditional way of road signalling was through a police officer, but this method was laborious and less visible to drivers. Also, the only two options were "stop" and "go" which made the flow of traffic difficult to navigate. Morgan created a folding traffic signal with folding arms with "stop" and "go" written on many signs which would be situated on a post above traffic. The signals could also be raised halfway in between to indicate caution moving forward. A traffic attendant would crank the post to signal and all lanes could be stopped by showing "stop" if needed. A patent for Morgan's traffic signal was issued in 1923 and he later sold the rights to General Electric for $40,000.[21]

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  Traffic signal design
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  Traffic signal design

Newspaper photograph of Morgan's rescue in 1916

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.[8] His device used a moist sponge to filter out smoke and cool the air.[22] It took advantage of the way smoke and fumes tend to rise to higher positions while leaving a layer of more breathable air below, by using an air intake tube that dangled near the floor.[16] The hood used a series of tubes to draw clean air of the lowest level the tubes could extend to. Smoke, being hotter than the air around it, rises, and by drawing air from the ground, the Safety Hood provided the user with a way to perform emergency respiration. He filed for a patent on the device in 1912,[16][23][24] and founded a company called the National Safety Device Company in 1914 to market it. He 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.[8] For demonstrations of the device, he sometimes adopted the disguise of "Big Chief Mason," a purported full-blooded Indian from the Walpole Island Indian Reserve in Canada.[25] He would demonstrate the device by building a noxious fire fueled by tar, sulfur, formaldehyde, and manure inside an enclosed tent.[16] Disguised as "Big Chief Mason," he would enter the tent full of black smoke, and would remain there for 20 minutes before emerging unharmed.[16]

A successful demonstration was also presented in Cleveland, Ohio. A representative of the company, Mr. Mason, entered a poisonous building with Morgan's hood on his head and remained in that environment for twenty minutes. The test was satisfactory according to Chief Stickle of the Cleveland Fire Department, who said that the device was much cheaper and simpler than the oxygen mask used during that time. Following the demonstration, Chief Stickle recommended the purchase of several smoke hoods for the fire department. Mr. Mason continued to make numerous demonstrations in Ravenna, Youngstown, Canton, and other neighboring cities in Ohio where the device was proclaimed a success. The purchase of Morgan's Smoke Hood was not limited within the boundaries of fire departments in northeastern Ohio. Many large cities throughout the United States had Morgan's Smoke Hood in their fire departments, hospitals, asylums, and ammonia factories, and were using them satisfactorily. His safety hood device was simple and effective, whereas the other devices in use at the time were generally difficult to put on, excessively complex, unreliable, or ineffective.[16] It was patented[26] and awarded a gold medal two years later by the International Association of Fire Chiefs. Morgan's safety hood was used to save many lives during the period of its use.[16]

He also developed later models that incorporated an airbag that could hold about 15 minutes of fresh air.[16][17]

His invention became known nationally when he led a rescue that saved several men's lives after the July 24, 1916, Waterworks Tunnel explosion in Cleveland, Ohio.[16][22][27] Before Morgan arrived, two previous rescue attempts had failed. The attempted rescuers had become victims themselves by entering the tunnel and not returning. 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.[16] He, as well as his brother Frank, arrived on the scene still wearing their pajamas and bringing four Smoke Hoods with them.[16][17][22] Most of the rescuers on the scene were initially skeptical of his device, so he and his brother went into the tunnel along with two other volunteers, and succeeded in pulling out two men from the previous rescue attempts.[16][22] He emerged carrying a victim on his back, and his brother followed just behind with another.[17] Others joined in after his team succeeded, and rescued several more.[16] His device was also used to retrieve the bodies of the rescuers that did not survive. 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.[16] Cleveland newspapers and city officials initially ignored 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, and it took years for the city to recognize his contributions. The mayor of that time Harry L. Davis failed to put Garrett Morgan's name on the list of recommended heroes.[8][16] City officials requested the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission to issue medals to several of the men involved in the rescue but excluded Morgan from their request.[16] He believed that the omission was racially motivated. Morgan's suspicions were confirmed by Victor M. Sincere of the Bailey Company in his statement to the Citizens Award Committee. "Your deed should serve to help break down the shafts of prejudice with which you struggle. And is sure to be the beacon of light for those that follow you in the battles of life."[16] Later, in 1917, a group of citizens of Cleveland tried to correct for the omission by presenting him with a diamond-studded gold medal.[16] After the heroic rescue Morgan's company received more order requests from fire departments all over the country. However, the national news contained photographs of him, and officials a number of southern cities canceled their existing orders when they discovered he was black. Morgan said in his diary, "I had but a little schooling, but I am a graduate from the school of hard knocks and cruel treatment. I have personally saved nine lives."

He was also given a medal from the International Association of Fire Engineers, which made him an honorary member.[17]

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  Smoke hood design
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  Smoke hood design