Who is the inventor of the stop light?

Answer 1

I found the following article on www.essortment.com. Did you ever wonder who invented the stoplight? The person responsible for the stoplight is Garrett Augustus Morgan, Sr., an African-American, who was born in Paris, Kentucky, on March 4, 1877, to Sidney and Elizabeth (Reed) Morgan. Elizabeth Morgan had been a slave freed by the Emancipation Proclamation. She and Sidney had eleven children. Garrett Morgan was the seventh. He spent his early childhood working on the family farm with his sisters and brothers, while attending school. At the early age of 14, he left Kentucky and moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, in search of employment. His education never went beyond elementary school, so he decided to hire a tutor while living in Cincinnati where he worked as a handyman for a wealthy landowner. He wanted to continue his studies in English grammar. Morgan moved to Cleveland, Ohio, in 1895 working for a clothing manufacturer as a sewing machine repairman. During his employment as a repairman, he invented a belt fastener for the sewing machine. He truly became a businessman in 1907 with the opening of his own sewing equipment and repair shop. He included a tailoring shop in 1909 that employed 32 employees. Morgan's new company began to put on the market coats, suits, and dresses. These clothes were made with the equipment that Morgan himself had made. Morgan established the Cleveland Call newspaper (later named the Call & Post), in 1920. Soon he became a well-known profitable businessman, and purchased a home and an automobile. As you can guess, his experience driving gave him the idea of a traffic signal. Garrett Morgan's Traffic Signal As history will tell you the first American-made automobile was introduced by the Ford Motor Company in 1903. It did not take long before the American consumer discovered the freedom of the open road. In the beginning of the 20th century, the roads were shared with bicycles, animal-powered wagons, and the new motor vehicles. Of course, the roads and streets were also shared with pedestrians. With this scenario, accidents were frequent. Morgan witnessed accidents between an automobile and a horse-drawn carriage. This was the beginning of the idea of the electric traffic light signal. A patent was granted to Morgan on November 20, 1923 for the traffic signal to regulate vehicle movement. In order to regulate the pedestrian and vehicle traffic on city streets, the GO and STOP signs were raised and lowered at intersections. His traffic light was a T-shaped pole that had three positions: Stop, Go, and the third position allowed pedestrians to cross the street or road more safely. The reason for the third position was to halt traffic in all directions. As you know, this light was replaced with the red, yellow, and green light signals. Years later, this invention was sold to General Electric for $40,000. Signal devices similar to the traffic light were also patented for England and Canada. Before his death, the United States Government awarded him a citation for his traffic signal. Garrett Augustus Morgan died on July 27, 1963, at the age of 86. He had given the world a legacy and a lasting impression. The Department of Transportation (DOT) program is the outcome of Garrett Morgan's inspiration. This program encourages students to consider transportation careers. Cleveland, Ohio was chosen as the site where the program was introduced. Morgan resided in this area for a lengthy period of time. He became an entrepreneur after overcoming poverty and lack of formal education. The following information is taken from an article entitled, "The Garrett A. Morgan Program: Shaping the Future of Transportation", by S. Lawrence Paulson. While the Morgan Program is still a work-in-progress at DOT, its objectives are clear. The program is intended to: Establish partnership among DOT, the private sector, and communities to ensure that today's students are prepared to become tomorrow's transportation workers. Develop a curriculum that can begin as early as kindergarten to interest students in transportation and provide learning tools that continue to be useful at the adult education level. Provide the technologies that will enable students to develop skills that they can apply to transportation careers.