When you speak about Black innovators who shifted the course of American history, Garrett Augustus Morgan is a name that deserves to be in bold, permanent ink. He was a self-taught inventor, a visionary thinker, and a businessman who created life-saving tools long before the world realized how much it needed them.

From the traffic light that protects millions every day to a breathing device that paved the way for modern gas masks, Morgan’s legacy is woven into the very fabric of daily American life, yet his story is still shockingly overlooked.

This is the powerful, eye-opening journey of the Black man whose inventions changed the world.

Humble Beginnings: A Brilliant Mind From the South

Garrett Morgan was born in 1877 in Claysville, Kentucky, to formerly enslaved parents. His childhood was shaped by poverty, but also by curiosity — the kind that drove him to take machines apart just to understand how they worked.

With only an elementary school education, Morgan moved to Cleveland at age 14, where he worked as a handyman and sewing-machine repairman. It was in these early jobs that his genius began to shine.

What people rarely know:
Morgan was mostly self-educated, studying mechanical engineering concepts on his own at night. He sharpened his mind not in a classroom, but through relentless curiosity.

The Inventions That Changed the World

Garrett Morgan created three of the most important innovations in American safety history, and each one came from a desire to save lives.

1. The Gas Mask (Safety Hood) – A Life-Saving Breakthrough

In 1912, Morgan invented the “safety hood,” the earliest version of the modern gas mask. It allowed firefighters and rescue workers to breathe in smoke-filled environments.

In 1916, he used the device to heroically rescue trapped workers from a collapsed Cleveland water tunnel, something many people don’t know he personally led.

What people really don’t know:
White fire departments around the country began using his invention, but when they learned he was Black, many canceled their orders. Morgan then hired white salesmen to demonstrate the device, and sales returned.

His invention was later adopted by U.S. soldiers in World War I.

2. The Three-Position Traffic Signal

Before Morgan’s invention, traffic signals were simple stop-and-go lights. Crashes were common.

After witnessing a horrific collision in Cleveland, he patented a three-position traffic light that added a “warning” phase, what we now know as yellow light.

This invention became the basis of modern traffic systems around the world.

Fun fact most people never hear:
Morgan sold the patent to General Electric for $40,000, a huge amount at the time, but historians say the actual value of his idea would be worth hundreds of millions today.

3. The First Black-Owned Newspaper in Cleveland

Morgan wasn’t just an inventor.
He was a businessman, a community leader, and an advocate for Black voices.

He founded the Cleveland Call, which later became the Call & Post, one of the most influential Black newspapers in Ohio history.

Barriers, Racism, and the Fight for Recognition

Garrett Morgan lived in an era when Black brilliance was ignored, stolen, or erased:

• He was often forced to hide his identity to sell his inventions.
• White competitors tried to shut him out of trade shows.
• Newspapers frequently failed to credit him, even when his inventions saved lives.

Despite this, he built a legacy so powerful that America could never fully erase it.

Morgan’s Legacy: A Black Pioneer Who Shaped Modern America

Today, Garrett Morgan’s impact can be felt everywhere:

• Every traffic light system uses his three-signal design.
• Every firefighter and soldier relies on breathing devices inspired by his gas mask.
• His breakthroughs laid the foundation for Black inventors to break into engineering and science.

But more importantly, he proved that genius doesn’t need permission, and brilliance cannot be contained by racism, poverty, or lack of formal education.