Reflections in Black: Garrett Morgan Sr.

Garrett Morgan Sr. was born around 1875 or 1877 in Paris, Ky. He left his home at the age of 14 to move to Cincinnati, Ohio, then later to Cleveland where he worked as a mechanic and preformed sewing machine repair. Morgan’s experience with sewing machines would eventually help him establish his first business, a sewing machine sales and repair shop known as the Morgan Skirt Factory. In 1913, Morgan would open a second business, the G.A. Morgan Hair Refining Company. He also obtained a patent for the Morgan Safety Hood in 1914. In 1929, Morgan would found the Cleveland Call, which later became the Cleveland Call and Post, a newspaper that is still in publication today. Morgan would also develop the G.A. Morgan Safety System, the curling comb, and a cigarette extinguisher before his death in 1963.