STOPPING AT TRAFFIC LIGHT

Did you know?

In 1914, Garrett Morgan invented a "safety hood." It made polluted air more breathable. The invention was an early version of the gas masks later used in World War I to protect soldiers from poison gas. Morgan's invention was famously put to use in 1916 in Cleveland, Ohio. See Patent no. US1113675A https://teacher.scholastic.com/.../inventors/morgan.htm

The next time that you stop at a traffic light think of Garrett Morgan. He was granted Patent No. 1,475,074, on November 20, 1923 via the U.S. Patent Office. He was only 46 at the time. [Though Morgan’s was not the first traffic signal (that one had been installed in London in 1868), it was an important innovation nonetheless: By having a third position besides just “Stop” and “Go,” it regulated crossing vehicles more safely than earlier signals had.] He sold the patent rights to General Electric for $40,000, a huge sum at the time. Read more about him here: https://www.history.com/.../garrett-morgan-patents-three...