Editing Garrett Morgan (section)

==Career==
Morgan spent most of his teenage years working as a [[handyman]] for a Cincinnati landowner. Like many African American children growing up at the turn of the century, he had to quit school at a young age to work full-time.<ref name=Bianco/> Morgan hired a tutor and continued his studies while working in Cincinnati. In 1895, he moved to Cleveland,<ref name= Ohiolink /> where he began repairing [[sewing machine]]s for a clothing manufacturer. This experience sparked Morgan's interest in how things worked, and he built a reputation for fixing them. His first invention, made during this period, was a belt fastener for sewing machines.<ref name="Bianco">{{cite web| last= Bianco| first= David| url= http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Garrett_Morgan.aspx| title= Morgan, Garrett 1877-1963| website= Encyclopedia.com| year= 1992| access-date= May 27, 2015| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150518224716/http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Garrett_Morgan.aspx| archive-date= May 18, 2015| url-status= live}}</ref> Morgan also invented a [[Zigzag stitch|zigzag]] attachment for sewing machines.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Gates|first1=Henry Louis|title=African American Lives|last2=Higginbotham|first2=Evelyn Brooks|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2004|isbn=978-0-19-988286-1}}</ref>

In 1907, Morgan opened a sewing machine shop. In 1908, more conscious of his heritage, he helped start the Cleveland Association of Colored Men.<ref name=ClevelandHistory/><ref name=CAOCM/> In 1909, he and his second wife, [[Czechs|Czech]]-immigrant Mary Anne Hassek,<ref>{{Cite book|last=DiCicco|first=Joan|title=The Unstoppable Garrett Morgan: Inventor, Entrepreneur, Hero|publisher=Lee & Low Books, Inc.|year=2019|isbn=978-1-62014-564-7|location=New York|page=9}}</ref> opened Morgan's Cut Rate Ladies Clothing Store.<ref name=CAH/> The shop made coats, suits, dresses, and other clothing, and ultimately had 32 employees.<ref name=ClevelandHistory/>

Around 1910, his interest in repairing other people's inventions waned, and he became interested in developing some of his own. He received his first patent in 1912. In 1913, he incorporated hair care products into his growing list of patents and launched the G. A. Morgan Hair Refining Company, which sold hair care products, including his patented hair straightening cream, [[hair dye|hair coloring]], and a hair straightening comb invented by Morgan.<ref name=":1" /> 

In 1914, he patented his [[smoke hood]] design, also known as a 'breathing device'.<ref name=":1" /> In 1914, he launched the ''National Safety Device Company''. The invention earned him the first prize at the Second International Exposition of Safety and Sanitation in New York City."<ref name="biography.com">{{Cite web |date=2021-06-03 |title=Garrett Morgan - Inventions, Traffic Light & Gas Mask |url=https://www.biography.com/inventors/garrett-morgan |access-date=2023-03-30 |website=Biography |language=en-US}}</ref> In 1916, Morgan rescued workers trapped in a water intake tunnel {{convert|50|ft|m|abbr=on}} beneath [[Lake Erie]], using the smoke hood to protect his eyes from smoke and featuring a series of air tubes that hung near the ground to draw clean air beneath the rising smoke.<ref name=FHWA/><ref name=SafetyHood/>

In 1923, Morgan designed a traffic signal after witnessing a horrible crash at an intersection. His manually-operated design included moving arms featuring signals for "go" and "stop".<ref name=":0" /> He eventually sold the rights to [[General Electric]] for $40,000.<ref name="biography.com"/>

Later in life he developed [[glaucoma]].<ref name="Ohiolink" /> By 1943 was functionally blind. He had poor health the rest of his life,<ref name="FHWA" /><ref name="Black Inventor" /> but continued to work on his inventions.  One of his last was a self-extinguishing cigarette, which used a small plastic pellet filled with water placed just before the filter. He died on July 27, 1963,<ref name="ClevelandHistory" /><ref name="Black Inventor">[http://www.blackinventor.com/pages/garrett-morgan.html Garrett Morgan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140228072322/http://www.blackinventor.com/pages/garrett-morgan.html |date=February 28, 2014 }}, Black Inventor Museum.</ref><ref name="IEEE">{{cite web| url= http://ethw.org/Garrett_A._Morgan |title= Garrett A. Morgan | website= Engineering and Technology History Wiki | access-date= May 27, 2015}}</ref>  at age 86. He is buried at the [[Lake View Cemetery]] in Cleveland.<ref name="ClevelandHistory" /><ref>{{cite news|title=Hero of Crib Explosion Dies at 86|work=The Plain Dealer|date=July 28, 1963|page=AA6|postscript=none}}; {{cite news|title=Death Notices|work=The Plain Dealer|date=July 29, 1963|page=34}}</ref>