Was the inventor of the traffic light an African-American?

Answer 1

Debatable as to who is the inventor. Two men are credited. You decide. 1. The very first traffic light was a revolving gas lantern with red and green lights installed in a London intersection in 1868, before the advent of automobiles. A later version of the traffic light based on railroad signals was installed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1920. But we have Garrett Augustus Morgan to thank for the modern version and first patent of this traffic-stopping invention. The son of former slaves, Morgan was born in 1877 in Kentucky. He later moved to Cincinnati and then Cleveland, where he owned and operated a sewing-machine repair business and earned quite a reputation as a technician. A multi-talented businessman, Morgan went on to establish the newspaper The Cleveland Call. In early 20th century Cleveland, as in other major U.S. cities, the roads were clogged with pedestrians, bicycles, animal-drawn wagons, and those newfangled automobiles. There were no traffic laws to speak of, and chaos ruled the streets. Accidents were frequent. After witnessing one such traffic accident, Morgan felt compelled to improve the situation. The result? The precursor to the modern traffic signal, patented on November 23, 1923. Not quite your contemporary street light, "The Morgan traffic signal was a T-shaped pole unit that featured three positions: Stop, Go and an all-directional stop position. This 'third position' halted traffic in all directions to allow pedestrians to cross streets more safely." His light was used throughout North America before being replaced by today's familiar red/yellow/green traffic lights. Morgan eventually sold the rights to his invention to General Electric. He also received a government citation for his invaluable invention. 2. The world's first traffic light came into being before the automobile was in use, and traffic consisted only of pedestrians, buggies, and wagons. Installed at an intersection in London in 1868, it was a revolving lantern with red and green signals. Red meant "stop" and green meant "caution." The lantern, illuminated by gas, was turned by means of a lever at its base so that the appropriate light faced traffic. On January 2, 1869, this crude traffic light exploded, injuring the policeman who was operating it. 3. Police Officer William L. Potts of Detroit, Michigan, decided to do something about the problem caused by the ever increasing number of automobiles on the streets. What he had in mind was figuring out a way to adapt railroad signals for street use. Potts used red, amber, and green railroad lights and about thirty-seven dollars worth of wire and electrical controls to make the world's first 4-way three color traffic light. It was installed in 1920 on the corner of Woodward and Michigan Avenues in Detroit. Within a year, Detroit had installed a total of fifteen of the new automatic lights.

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DID YOU KNOW? Invention: Traffic Light Function: noun / trsffic signal / stoplight Definition: A road signal for directing vehicular traffic by means of colored lights, typically red for stop, green for go, and yellow for proceed with caution. Patent: As a government emplyee Potts could not patent his invention. Inventor:William L. Potts Criteria: First practical. Modern prototype.