A traffic officer operates an early, three-section traffic-control signal. *
Photo: Schenectady Museum/Corbis * 1923: Garrett Morgan patents his version of the traffic signal.
Morgan's signal, which more closely resembled the signals seen at train crossings, was not the first traffic light. His wasn't even the first patent issued for a traffic light. But it was the signal that eventually attracted the attention of General Electric, which bought the rights from Morgan for $40,000.
Armed with the patent protection, GE went on to monopolize the manufacturing of traffic signals in the United States.
Morgan, a black inventor who lived in Cleveland, also came up with the first practical gas mask. It was originally used by firefighters in the early 1900s, and then by miners, before being put to grimmer uses on the European battlefields of World War I.
The earliest known traffic signal dates to London in 1868, well before automobiles made an appearance. The signal, actually a revolving lantern that flashed red lights (for stop) and green lights (for caution), was illuminated by gas and operated by hand. The original exploded on Jan. 2, 1869, injuring the policeman-operator.
In 1920, Detroit police officer William Potts devised the first four-way, three-color traffic light. It was based on railroad signal technology, and within a year of its appearance, the city of Detroit had installed 15 of them around town.
But it was Morgan's version that caught the eye of GE.
(Source: Ideafinder.com)
Sept. 13, 1899: New Yorker Becomes First U.S. Pedestrian Killed by Car
Oct. 1, 1908: A Basic Car for the Great Unwashed
