Garrett Morgan traffic signal myths
from various publications.
NOTE: A few of these sources repeat an equally false myth that Morgan invented the first gas mask, even though the gas mask existed decades before Morgan's 1914 breathing device. Read about The Invention of the Gas Mask for details.
[BACK to Garrett Morgan / traffic light page]
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
May 10, 1997
http://clinton6.nara.gov/1997/05/1997-05-09-proclamation-of-transportation-day-and-week.html
An African American, Garrett Morgan invented the traffic signal and is recognized as the father of our safe transportation technology program.
—President Bill Clinton, May 10 1997
U.S. Department of Transportation website
"Safety School" educational page
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/kids/safeschool/ (as of Feb. 7, 2003)
Traffic Lights — we see them at almost every intersection. Now meet Garrett A. Morgan, the man that invented them!
U.S. Dept. of Transportation website
"Garrett A. Morgan: Father of the Stoplight"
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/kids/safeschool/morgan2.html (as of Feb. 7, 2003)
Here at the Department of Transportation, Mr. Morgan is considered the father of Transportation Safety Technology.
...thanks to an African American inventor by the name of Garrett Augustus Morgan, we have traffic signals that help make intersections and your walk or ride to school much safer.
A Message from Secretary Mineta
http://education.dot.gov/Mineta.html (as of Feb 7 2003)
The Garrett A. Morgan Technology and Transportation Futures Program commemorates Garrett A. Morgan, a son of slaves and an African American who invented the traffic signal and gas mask.
—Norman Mineta
Secretary, US Department of Transportation (!!!)
Inventing Modern America: from the Microwave to the Mouse (2002)
David E. Brown
The MIT Press: Cambridge MA, London
In 1922, after Morgan witnessed a horrible traffic accident, he turned his inventive mind to automobile safety. A year later, he was awarded the first patent for a traffic signal.
USA TODAY
November 14, 2001, Wednesday
FINAL EDITION, MONEY; Pg. 3B;
HEADLINE: Inventor didn't stop at gas mask: He created traffic signal, too
By Kevin Maney
Who even knew ANYONE invented the traffic signal? It just seems like a naturally occurring phenomenon that's been around since the dawn of civilization. Didn't the Romans have traffic signals? The Flintstones?
Anyway, the inventor's name is Garrett Morgan. [...]
Every city in the world relies on the descendants of Morgan's traffic signal....
The Times Educational Supplement
October 20, 2000
SECTION: OPENING SHOTS; FEATURES & ARTS; No.4399; Pg.4
HEADLINE: Object Lesson No 35 Traffic Lights
By Harvey McGavin
After witnessing a particularly nasty accident, African American businessman Garrett Morgan patented a three-phase signal which was soon adapted to the red, amber and green version we see today.
[...]
Even journalists have good reason to be grateful to Mr Garrett Morgan, whose invention gave the green light to hundreds of cliched headlines.
The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)
December 9, 2002 Monday, Final / All, METRO; Pg. B2
West is west, but can be east at Chagrin Blvd. interchange
Rich Exner, Plain Dealer Reporter
Clevelander Garrett Morgan patented the first automatic traffic light in 1923.
The Boston Globe
October 27, 2002, Sunday, THIRD EDITION, Pg. 5, GLOBE SOUTH 1
SIGNS AND SIGNALS OF THE TIMES, by JOHN STILGOE
...a safety-minded Ohio inventor created the prototype of the traffic signal motorists know today. Garrett Morgan....
The Columbus Dispatch
March 20, 2002 Wednesday, Home Final Edition
QUARTER MASTER ; Ex-toy designer's latest work is right on the money
Gerald Tebben, Of The Dispatch Staff
[Regarding the Ohio quarter]
Some Cleveland kids wanted their hometown hero Garrett Morgan, the inventor of the traffic light, on the coin.
The Atlanta Journal and Constitution
February 15, 2001 Thursday, Home Edition, Pg. 2JK, SouthsideNotes
Rochelle Carter, Sandra Eckstein
BLACK INVENTORS: Imagine how bad Atlanta's already gridlocked traffic would be without stoplights. Thanks to Garrett Augustus Morgan's 1923 invention of the traffic signal, most of us eventually get home unscathed.
Morgan was African-American. So were the inventors of the gas mask, the flying blimp and horseshoes.
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Friday, February 7, 2003
Section: Entertainment
Innovations center stage in '1,001 Black Inventions'
By Derek J. Fuchs
The Pin Points Theatre production scheduled for Saturday at the Carnegie Library Lecture Hall culminates with what seems like a strange take on "It's a Wonderful Life."
A typical, modern American family tries to survive in a world where suddenly the kids can't get vaccinations, traffic lights have disappeared, bicycles are nowhere to be found, and no one can find a fire extinguisher.
It's a world without the inventions and innovations of African Americans.
Those creations are the crux of the Pin Points' play "1,001 Black Inventions." Pin Points, based in Washington, D.C., performs it and other educational plays mostly in schools.
(The article also lists some of the other "1,001 black inventions": the cellular phone, typewriter, fountain pen, spark plug, lawn mower, self-starting gasoline motor, open-heart surgery, clothes dryer, hair brush, ironing board, rolling pin, biscuit cutter, peanut butter, and the first clock in the United States.)
St. Petersburg Times
February 11, 2001, Sunday, Pg. 10
NEIGHBORHOOD TIMES; ASK DR. DELAY
In honor of Black History Month, we bring you this Dr. Delay Terrible Traffic Factoid of the Week: Garrett Augustus Morgan, an African-American, was the first to patent a traffic signal.
ADWEEK
February 12, 2001 Western Edition
HEADLINE: Toyota Marks Path to Freedom
By Rebecca Flass
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES
Saatchi's Print Advertising Pays Tribute to Black History Month
The commitment to diversity is not new for Toyota, said Gilbert, pointing to past efforts that have included African American pioneers such as Garrett Morgan, inventor of the automated traffic signal.
Logistics Management
December 01, 2002
SECTION: Departments; Up Front; Pg. 5
HEADLINE: Up Front
BYLINE: Staff
Would you like to help children and young adults discover the world of transportation? The U.S. Department of Transportation's "Garrett A. Morgan Technology and Transportation Futures" program, named after the inventor of the traffic signal, is looking for volunteers to work with educators on transportation-related curriculum development.
The Advertiser
March 6, 2001, Tuesday, FEATURES; Pg. 34
inventions; THAT CHANGED AND ALMOST CHANGED THE WORLD
Education Editor SCOTT MONK
Traffic Lights: Although many people experimented and possibly sold automatic traffic lights, the first person to apply for a patent in the US was African-American Garrett Morgan. His design of 1923 created a T-shaped traffic light, which had stop, go and a third all-stop signal to allow pedestrians to cross the street.
Daily News (New York)
February 26, 2001, Monday, SPORTS FINAL EDITION, NEWS;, Pg. 17
BLACK HISTORY IS LIMITLESS, BY KAREN HUNTER
Black history is American history. From Crispus Attucks, the first person killed in the Revolutionary War, Colin Powell, secretary of state. From Lewis Latimer, whose invention of the filament made Edison's light bulb possible, to Garrett Morgan, who invented the traffic light. How valuable is that in this city?
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
February 11, 2001, Sunday, TWO STAR EDITION, Pg. E-1
MACON, GA., IS RIPE WITH PEACHES, AFRICAN-AMERICAN HISTORY, by BUZZ NUTLEY
I also learned so much about African-American culture that I hadn't already known. ... An African-American named Garrett Morgan invented the traffic signal
The Plain Dealer (Cleveland)
February 2, 2001 Friday, Final / All, ARTS & LIFE; Pg. 3E
JIM GAYLE GALLERY; A famed inventor's legacy
Margaret Bernstein, Plain Dealer Reporter
In 1963, Jim Gayle took a photo that would become part of Cleveland's history - and the nation's, as well. He photographed inventor Garrett Morgan with his most famous invention, the traffic light.
[...]
It was his idea to add the yellow caution light between the stop and go lights.
The Denver Post
March 12, 2000 Sunday, 2D EDITION, Pg. L-06
Denver inventor sees gun lock's necessity, Robert Schwab, SMALL BUSINESS
...Garrett Morgan, who invented the traffic light and the gas mask.
The San Francisco Chronicle
MARCH 3, 2000, FRIDAY, FINAL EDITION, EAST BAY FRIDAY;, Pg. 4
Exhibitors Highlights Black Inventors
Maitland Zane, EAST BAY
An exhibition showcasing the contributions that African American inventors have made to society is on view at the Junior Center of Art and Science near Lake Merritt. Designed to encourage children to pursue careers in science and technology, the show focuses on such figures as agricultural pioneer George Washington Carver; Garrett A. Morgan, inventor of the traffic signal and gas mask, and rocket scientist Henry T. Sampson.
April 2000