5 Ways Famous Clevelander Garrett Morgan Transformed The City... And The World

Once upon a time, Garrett Morgan had the misfortune of seeing firefighters struggle to face thick, black smoke as they battled a fire. Moved to help, he invented a safety hood that filtered air. This, of course, was one of many early models that would be transformed into a gas mask as the world wars rolled around... but Morgan's invention initially gained international attention following a local event on July 24, 1916.

On this day, there was an explosion in the tunnels under Lake Erie, and those who attempted a rescue became trapped in the tunnels along with the workers. A member of the rescue efforts roused Morgan in the middle of the night, and he arrived on scene with several hoods. Morgan and his brother Frank were the first to rush into the tunnels, and they were the first to emerge with survivors. Following his act of heroism, fire departments across the nation ordered his patented safety smoke hood.

Traffic signals have been around for ages. The first gas-lit ones appeared in London in the late 1860s, and it used only red and green to convey "stop" and "caution" messaging. This manually operated traffic device eventually exploded, and people across the globe would move on to explore electric traffic signals instead.

Though not the first to incorporate a three-color concept into the traffic light, Garrett Morgan designed a unique T-shaped signal. While not the first traffic signal in existence, Morgan's design was eventually purchased by none other than General Electric, who would go on to make most of the nation's traffic lights. Interestingly, Morgan himself was the first black man in Cleveland to own a car, so he doubtlessly had a grasp of the importance of safety.

Garret Morgan wasn't just a great inventor -- he was also a black man in an era that could be extremely unkind based on the color of your skin. He was a co-founder of the Cleveland Association of Colored Men and a member of the NAACP, but one of his most impressive acts of social reform was also one of his most subtle.

After General Electric purchased the rights to his traffic signal, Morgan purchased 123 acres and established the Wakeman Country Club. Just two years after the nation's first black country club appeared in response to the state of segregation, Morgan established his own country club that would go on to boast an all-black membership. While the unfortunate concept of segregation was still very much alive at the time, Morgan's country club effortlessly challenged many of the era's more unfavorable stereotypes.

One might argue that a great mind like Morgan's would go to waste pandering to the beauty industry, but Garrett Morgan's financial success in hair care was serendipitous. Morgan and his wife owned a tailoring shop, and he accidentally discovered a concoction that straightened natural fibers while experimenting with chemicals to prevent wool from scorching. He began selling the first documented hair relaxer when he founded the G.A. Morgan Hair Refining Company. This brought him enough financial success to devote time to other inventions.

Today, pursuing a college education is not an easy undertaking. It continues to be a challenge for minorities of all backgrounds, as systematic inequality is still rampant in many places. Believe it or not, Garrett Morgan himself only had a sixth-grade education. However, this great thinker never stopped learning. Though self-educated and innovative, Morgan recognized the importance of a formal education and made donations to historically black colleges and universities.