Garrett Augustus Morgan, Sr., (1877-1963) was an African American inventor who originated a respiratory protective hood (similar to the modern gas masks), invented a hair-straightening preparation, and patented a type of traffic signal. He is renowned for a heroic rescue in which he used his hood to save workers trapped in a tunnel system filled with fumes. Wikipedia
The definitive Wikipedia entry for Garrett A. Morgan. Wikipedia is the biggest multilingual free-content encyclopedia on the Internet. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garrett_A._Morgan
Unable to sell his gas mask to fire departments in the South, Morgan hired an actor friend to pose as an inventor while he dressed up as an Indian chief. www.pbs.org/wgbh/theymadeamerica/whomade/morgan_hi.html
Garrett Augustus Morgan was a Cleveland inventor and businessman who had invented a device called the Morgan safety hood and smoke protector - We now call this invention the gas mask. inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blgas_mask2.htm
In early 1922, African-American inventor Garrett Augustus Morgan designed a cross-shaped traffic signal, for which he submitted a patent application on February 27 of that year. www33.brinkster.com/iiiii/trfclt/
Perhaps the most common misconception about gas mask history is that it began with a device invented by Garrett A. Morgan. www33.brinkster.com/iiiii/gasmask/page.html
