The Garrett Morgan Gas Mask: How One Inventor Saved Lives

The Garrett Morgan gas mask: an invention that changed safety

Modern chemical warfare began on April 22, 1915, when German soldiers first used chlorine gas in combat against the French. However, inventions designed to protect the respiratory tract from gas, smoke, and other toxic fumes were created even earlier.

The American inventor Garrett Morgan patented a gas mask named after himself—the "Morgan"—as early as 1914. While this invention was significant, the Garrett Morgan gas mask gained the most attention a few years later when it saved 32 men trapped by an explosion in an underground tunnel 820 feet (250 meters) beneath Lake Erie [1].

Yet even then, Morgan's achievement was somewhat separated from the inventor himself. As the son of former slaves, he did not receive the respect he deserved due to the prevailing racial tensions in the United States at the time.

Only now are the creator's work and life being properly honored.

Morgan is certainly worth remembering. He patented not only the first gas masks but also the first modern road signs, which paved the way for the Garrett Morgan traffic light.

It is said that he came up with this invention after witnessing a horrific car accident at a street corner in Cleveland. He clearly knew how to learn from tragedies—not by exploiting the pain of others, but by seeking to reduce it.

The Garrett Morgan biography: origins buyers wanted to ignore

Born Garrett Augustus Morgan Sr. on March 4, 1877, in Kentucky, he was the seventh of 11 children. His father was a former slave and the son of John Hunt Morgan, a Confederate colonel [2].

In America at that time, Morgan's mixed race was a major factor in how his achievements were judged. Furthermore, he had only an elementary education. As an adult, he initially worked as a sewing machine mechanic and eventually opened his own sewing machine repair shop.

However, one of the most important events of his life occurred in 1914, when he patented a breathing device that we call a gas mask today, though it was also known as the Garrett Morgan safety hood.

He always believed in the idea and necessity of this device, putting a great deal of effort into getting fire departments interested in his gas masks.

Still, his background often got in the way. Potential buyers, especially in the South, frequently refused to do business with him once they realized he was Black.

To change the public's perception of his products, Morgan even hired a white actor to pose as the inventor during demonstrations of the breathing device. Meanwhile, the actual author of the gas mask posed as the inventor's assistant, disguising himself as a Native American named "Big Chief Mason."

Brothers save multiple lives in the Cleveland tunnel

This tactic eventually proved successful, and the device sold rapidly. However, the most important factor that popularized his invention not only in the US but around the world was a tragedy in a Cleveland tunnel.

In 1916, the Cleveland city government was drilling a new tunnel under Lake Erie for fresh water supply. Workers hit a pocket of natural gas, causing a massive explosion that trapped everyone underground amid noxious smoke and dust.

Hearing about the explosion, Morgan and his brother put on their gas masks and entered the tunnel. Morgan knew that carbon monoxide typically lingers at about the head level of a standing person, while cleaner air hovers closer to the ground.

Because of this, he designed his gas masks so that air was drawn through a long tube [3]. The entire system resembled the letter Y or an elephant's trunk.

Armed with these systems, the brothers managed to save several people in the Cleveland tunnel, pulling out four bodies before the rescue efforts were finally called off.

When the inventor's origins were revealed, buyers turned away

Interestingly, the initial reaction to Morgan's invention following the rescue was once again negative. For the previous few years, he had posed as the gas mask inventor's assistant, but after the Cleveland tunnel collapse, everyone learned his real name and the fact he had tried so hard to hide—that he was Black.

Because of his race and the deception, many potential buyers once again refused to purchase his products. Furthermore, neither the inventor nor his brother were fully recognized for their heroic efforts in saving the tunnel victims.

Morgan himself was nominated for a Carnegie Medal but ultimately was not chosen to receive the award. Additionally, some news reports about the explosion named other individuals as the primary rescuers.

Other Garrett Morgan inventions: seeing potential everywhere

Morgan was a creative and curious person, so he soon moved on to other ideas. He designed fasteners for belts and hats, and later became interested in automotive goods.

Interestingly, Morgan was the first Black man in Cleveland to own a car.

In 1923, he witnessed an unexpected accident: cars colliding at a dangerous city intersection prompted the man to create a road traffic sign—the equivalent of a traffic light for that era. A warning light on the sign was meant to alert drivers that they would need to stop.

Morgan soon acquired patents for his traffic signal in the US, Great Britain, and Canada, but he ultimately sold the rights to General Electric for $40,000 [4].

Both the gas mask and the traffic light are crucial inventions today, saving thousands of lives daily. Truthfully, their author never received the proper recognition he deserved during his lifetime.

Morgan died at the Cleveland Clinic on July 27, 1963, after a long illness. He was 87 years old and had been blind for the last 15 years.

It was only about half a century later that his gas mask was exhibited during the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. This was a fitting way to honor an inventor who knew how to look at a potential threat and find a way to save as many lives as possible.