Garrett Augustus Morgan was born March 4, 1877, in Paris, Kentucky. Garrett A. Morgan was born the 7th of the 11 children to Sydney and Elizabeth Morgan, both former slaves. Morgan spent his childhood attending school and working with his brothers and sisters on the family farm. When he was 14, he moved north to Cincinnati, Ohio in search of employment and a better education.

Morgan spent most of his teenage years working as a handyman for a wealthy Cincinnati landowner. Like many African-Americans of his day, Morgan had to quit school at a young age, in order to work. However, the teenaged Morgan hired his own tutor, and continued his studies while living in Cincinnati. As a teenager, he was inspired by Lewis Latimer. In 1895, Morgan moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where he worked as a sewing machine repairman for a clothing manufacturer. News of his skill at fixing things and experimenting spread quickly throughout Cleveland.

 

Education:

Garrett A. Morgan spent most of his teenage years working as a handyman for a wealthy Cincinnati landowner. Like many African-Americans of his day, Morgan had to quit school at a young age, in order to work. However, the teenaged Morgan hired his own tutor, and continued his studies while living in Cincinnati.

 

Contributions:

In 1907, Morgan opened his own sewing machine and repair shop. It was the first of several businesses he would own. In 1909, he expanded his business to include a tailoring shop. The company made coats, suits, dresses, etc. - all sewn with equipment that Morgan himself had made. Morgan experimented with a liquid that gave a sewing machine needles a high polish and prevented the needle from scorching fabric, as it sewed. Accidentally, Morgan discovered that this liquid not only straightened fabric but also hair. He made the liquid into a cream and began the G.A. Morgan Hair Refining Company. Morgan also made a black hair oil dye and a curved-tooth Iron comb in 1910, to straighten hair. In 1908, Morgan helped found the Cleveland Association of Colored Men.

In 1920, Morgan moved into the newspaper business when he established The Cleveland Call. As the years passed, he became a prosperous and widely respected business man, and he was able to purchase a home and an automobile. He is reported to have been the first African American to own an automobile. It was Morgan's experience while driving along the streets of Cleveland that led to his invention of the traffic signal.