Garrett Morgan, born March 4 1877, was an African American inventer, businessman and community leader. Well known for his notable inventions of the three position traffic signal and the smoke hood (gas mask), which was used in a tunnel construction rescue in 1916. Although Morgan is well-known for his genius invention, he was also a civil right activist for his Cleveland's community. In 1908, Morgan became one of the co-founders and treasurer of the Cleveland Association of Colored Men, which later merged with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). During this time, he and many other members of the NAACP began donating to Historically Black Colleges and Universities to help fund schooling for African-American students.

Early in his career, Morgan began life in the workforce as a sewing machine repairman in Cleveland. It was during this time, Morgan career would take a unexpected turn for greatness! While repairing sewing machines at work, Morgan began experimenting with a liquid that could give sewing machine needles a high glossed polish. This polish would prevent the needle from burning fabric as the sewing machine get hot while sewing. One day after repairing a sewing machine, Morgan began preparing to close the shop for the night. While cleaning up, Morgan grab a wool cloth to help clean off all of the liquid on his hands and left work. When he return to work the next day, he discovered something that would change his life. The wooly cloth was now sliky and smooth. Amazed by what he discovered, Morgan began experimenting more with the liquid and realized that the liquid could be used to straighten hair. He further advanced the liquid into a cream and began testing it on his neighbor's dog and himself. After the successfully experiments, Morgan launched his owned business G. A. Morgan Hair Refining Company.

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