Garrett Augustus Morgan Born : 4th March 1877 – Paris, Kentucky (USA) Died : 27th August 1963 – Cleveland, Ohio (USA) He was an African-American inventor His inventions made people’s life safer and more convenient Think about driving without traffic lights What a nightmare ! The next time you stop for a red light, thank the inventor, Garrett A Morgan It’s 1877 Garrett A Morgan is born to a poor African-American family When he is 14 he leaves school and goes to work He doesn’t have much education but he’s very imaginative He teaches himself Morgan works in a sewing machine shop He gets interested in machines He always looks for better ways to things It’s 1901 Morgan invents a special belt for sewing machine He sells the idea for $ 150 But this is only the beginning Morgan invents many things Now it’s 1914 Morgan invents a helmet miners and firefighters Garrett A Morgan was born in 1875 Morgan comes from a rich African-American family Garrett leaves school and teaches himself He works as a mechanic He invents a special belt for sewing machine He invents helmet to protect miners and Firefighters in 1944 He invents a traffic light with the timer Garrett A Morgan sells his invention to the General Electric Company to protect from smoke and gas He wins a gold medal for this invention Morgan looks for other problems to solve Cars are very popular in the USA The streets are crowded with cars There are many accidents Morgan has and idea What about a light at each street corner ? The light tell the cars to stop or go He invents a timer that automatically changes the light Cities all over the country want to have Morgan’s traffic lights but he can’t produce enough of them It’s the 1920s He sells his invention to the General Electric Company He gets $ 40,000 This is a large amount of money for that time Key Write T (true) or F (false) : Answer the questions : Where was Garrett A Morgan born ? _ Who was Mr Morgan ? _ What was his first invention ? _ What did he invent in 1914 ? _ What did he win for this invention ? _ Why did Morgan sell his invention – the traffic light, to the General Electric Company ? _ _ Write T (true) or F (false) : – F (1877) – F (poor) 3–T – F ( a seller) 5–T – F (1914) 7–T 8–T Answer the questions : – in Paris, Kentucky (USA) – an African-American inventor – a special belt for sewing machine – a helmet to protect miners and firefighters – a gold medal – because cities all over the country wanted to have the traffic lights but he couldn’t produce enough of them