Morgan, Garrett
1877-1963 · Contribution: 1914 (smoke hood); 1923 (traffic signal)
Smoke hood (early gas mask); three-position traffic signal
Portraits are AI-generated interpretations, not photographs.
Impact on the world
His smoke hood saved lives in rescue operations including a 1916 tunnel disaster, and his traffic signal design improved road safety, both becoming the basis for widely used safety technologies. His safety hood also directly influenced the standard-issue gas mask used by U.S. soldiers in World War I.
Life & background
An inventor who developed an early gas mask, known as a smoke hood, used in firefighting and rescue work, and later patented an improved three-position traffic signal, an important advance in road safety.
Sources
- Encyclopædia Britannica; National Inventors Hall of Fame
More in Industrial & Mechanical
Boyd, Henry
1802-1886
Invented the Boyd bedstead, a reinforced wooden bed frame design; founded a bedstead factory
Brooks, Charles
1865-unknown
Street sweeper truck design; paper punch
Coffey, Cornelius Robinson
1903-1994
Became the first African American certified aircraft mechanic in the United States in 1932 and designed a patented carburetor heating system that prevented icing, allowing aircraft to fly safely in cold and wet weather, a design principle still used in aviation today
Crosthwait, David Jr.
1892-1976
Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system design