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Goodrich - Kirtland Park in Cleveland in Cuyahoga County, Ohio — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
 

Garrett A. Morgan

 
 
Garrett A. Morgan Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Christopher Busta-Peck, April 12, 2009
1. Garrett A. Morgan Marker
Inscription. Garrett Augustus Morgan was an African American businessman and prolific inventor of devices that made people's lives safer and more convenient. Born on March 4, 1877 in Claysville, the Black segregated section of Paris, Kentucky, Morgan migrated north first to Cincinnati and then Cleveland in 1895. He lived and worked in this house at 5204 Harlem Avenue. In 1906, Morgan started the G.A. Morgan Hair Refining Company to market the hair straightener he had invented. The following year he opened a sewing machine repair shop. In 1908, he and his wife Mary opened Morgan's Cut Rate Ladies Clothing Store.
(Continued on other side)

(Continued from other side)
In 1910, Garrett Morgan invented the curve-toothed hair-straightening comb, and four years later patented the safety hood, the forerunner of the gas mask used in the 1916 Lake Erie Crib disaster and further developed and used in World War I. He also invented the traffic signal and sold his patented rights to General Electric Company. He was a founding member of the Cleveland Association of Colored Men and served as treasurer. He continued to invent tools, gadgets, and devices well into his 70s. He died in 1963 while preparing an exhibition of his life's work for an exposition in Chicago.
 
Erected 2003 by the Ohio Bicentennial
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Commission, Cinergy Foundation, and the Ohio Historical Society. (Marker Number 60-18.)
 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African AmericansScience & Medicine. In addition, it is included in the Ohio Historical Society / The Ohio History Connection series list. A significant historical month for this entry is March 1745.
 
Location. Marker has been reported missing. It was located near 41° 30.897′ N, 81° 39.121′ W. Marker was in Cleveland, Ohio, in Cuyahoga County. It was in Goodrich - Kirtland Park. Marker was on East 55th Street near Harlem Avenue, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker was in this post office area: Cleveland OH 44103, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within one mile of this location, measured as the crow flies. League Park (approx. half a mile away); The Yellow House (approx. ¾ mile away); Old Dunham Tavern Garden (approx. 0.8 miles away); Dunham Tavern (approx. 0.9 miles away); Colonel Charles Young (approx. 0.9 miles away); Help Six Chimneys, Inc. (approx. 0.9 miles away); Sarah Benedict House (approx. one mile away); The History of Hough (1799-1979) (approx. one mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Cleveland.
 
More about this marker. The marker is not in front of Morgan's house
Garrett A. Morgan Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Christopher Busta-Peck, April 12, 2009
2. Garrett A. Morgan Marker
on Harlem Avenue, contrary to what the text might suggest. The address, however, is just around the corner and might easily be reached either on foot or by car.
 
Also see . . .  Wikipedia Entry. “Garrett Morgan invented a safety hood smoke protection device after seeing firefighters struggling from the smoke they encountered in the line of duty. ... He was able to sell his invention around the country, sometimes using the tactic of having a hired white actor take credit rather than revealing himself as its inventor. ... It was patented and awarded a gold medal two years later by the International Association of Fire Chiefs.” (Submitted on November 18, 2017.) 
 
Additional commentary.
1. Marker missing?
As of July of 2014 it appears the marker is missing. The pole is still there. The marker may have been moved from 5204 Howell Avenue, to this location as to be more visible, since the house is no longer there.
    — Submitted November 19, 2017, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.
 
Garrett A. Morgan (1877–1963) image. Click for full size.
Via Wikipedia (Public domain)
3. Garrett A. Morgan (1877–1963)
Marker location on East 55th Street image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Christopher Busta-Peck, April 12, 2009
4. Marker location on East 55th Street
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on February 4, 2023. It was originally submitted on April 12, 2009, by Christopher Busta-Peck of Shaker Heights, Ohio. This page has been viewed 3,098 times since then and 128 times this year. It was the Marker of the Week November 19, 2017. Photos:   1, 2. submitted on April 12, 2009, by Christopher Busta-Peck of Shaker Heights, Ohio.   3. submitted on November 18, 2017, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.   4. submitted on April 12, 2009, by Christopher Busta-Peck of Shaker Heights, Ohio.

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Mar. 28, 2024