Today In Black History

November 20

1923
Garrett Morgan invented and patented the traffic signal,

Background
Garrett Augustus Morgan (March 4, 1877, Paris, Kentucky - August 27, 1963, Cleveland, Ohio) was an African American inventor who originated a respiratory protective hood (although many people said it is a myth), invented a hair-straightening preparation and patented a type of traffic signal. He is renowned for a heroic rescue in which he used his hood to save workers trapped in a tunnel system filled with fumes.



1865

Howard University founded in Washington DC