On November 20, 1923 Garrett Morgan received a patent for the invention of the traffic light signal. He essentially invented the first versions of what would become the yellow light, when he noticed a need for a signal to tell drivers that they would need to get ready to stop. Fixing problems served as inspiration for his inventions. read more
On this day in 1923, the U.S. Patent Office grants Patent No. 1,475,074 to 46-year-old inventor and newspaperman Garrett Morgan for his three-position traffic signal. read more
The inventor sold the rights to his traffic signal to the General Electric Corporation for $40,000. Shortly before his death in 1963, Garrett Morgan was awarded a citation for his traffic signal by the United States Government. read more