Garrett Morgan

He was the first African-American man in Cleveland to own a car.

Garrett Morgan was a true pioneer of safety, but he had to overcome a lot of obstacles and fight for recognition of his work!

Garrett was born in Kentucky in 1877, just a few years after the end of slavery.He died in 1963 in Cleveland, Ohio.The first business he owned was a clothing shop that his wife helped him run.

Garrett Morgan

Pioneer of Safety

He invented this safety hood that protects people like firefighters in dangerous situations!

Even though the safety hood he invented was really helpful, it was hard to sell because he was African-American. He hired a white actor to help him, and suddenly his invention was a big success!

Garrett's plans to make the traffic signal safer.