Garrett Morgan

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Read the passage below.
Garrett Morgan
1.
4.
Garrett Morgan was born in Kentucky in 7877. His mother
and father were former slaves. Despite his humble upbringing,
Morgan went on to become one of America's most prominent
inventors. He invented a lifesaving gas mask for firefighters and
even built the first model for the modern traffic light. Morgan's
inventions were very practical and helped others.
Morgan had a very mechanical mind. Even though he had
only a sixth-grade education, he quickly learned how machines
worked. He worked at a textile factory when he was young and
was the only African American to work as a machine adjuster at
the factory.
Morgan also had a mind for business. Learning al.l he could
while working at the factory, he decided to open his own repair
shop in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1907.
Morgan's shop thrived during a time when Americans had little
money to spend. He opened a clothing business soon after and
this was successful, too. Morgan soon became wealthy enough to
purchase a car; he was the first African American in Cleveland to
do so.
As a young man, Morgan
noticed how difficult it was
for firefighters to avoid the
dangerous smoke in burning
buildings. Their struggle
inspired him to invent the
first fire-safetY hood, or gas
mask. He designed the mask
as a canvas hood with two
tubes attached to it. The
tubes filtered the smoke
out of the hood and cooled
the air inside. The safetY
hood allowed the wearer to
breathe in. a smoke-filled
FOOm.
Morgant hood was a huge
success. Soon it was being
(continued)
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used in more than 500 cities across the nation. It was also used
by the U.S, Navy and the Army during World War L
z.
The hood received even more positive exposure in 1916 when
Morgan used it to rescue workers who had become trapped in
a tunnel beneath Lake Erie after an explosion, The event made
headlines and Morgan's bravery made him a hero.
s
Morgan followed the success of his safety hood with another
practical invention-a mechanical traffic light. His traffic light was
unique because it included a third, cautionary signal between the
stop and go signals. He patented the light in 1923 and sold it to
General Electric. It became a widely used device for controlling
road traffic.
s.
Aside from his two major inventions, Morgan also founded a
line of hair-care products and started a newspaper for African
Americans. Morgan was charitable with his wealth and donated
money to many black colleges,
rc
Morgan died on July 27,1963. He was responsible for some
of the most helpful inventions in history. Though many people
may not recognize his name, plenty of people are grateful for the
contributions
he made to
Garrett Morgan Time Line
American life.
1877 born on March 4
1895 moved to Cleveland; worked
1901 opened repair shop
Core Writing
in a repair shop
l9o9
l9l 6
opened tailor shop
1920
1963
started the Clevelond Coll, a newspaper
used gas mask to rescue 32 people trapped in
a
tunnel
died on luly 27
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