Big Chief Garrett: The Invention Of The Gas Mask

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Sly Chavey Mrs. Wunderle Inventor Research 27 Feb. 2018 The Gas Mask On July 24, 1916, a man struck a pocket of natural gas with a pickaxe in a tunnel and ignited it. The noxious fumes were flowing through the tunnel and choking the miners. No one had the equipment to go into the tunnel and save anyone. They only knew one man that had a chance to rescue these men and so they called him in. This man drove to the site in his pajamas and safety hood and ran into the tunnels to save as many men as he could. This was the first time his new invention, the gas mask, had been tested, and it was successful. Many men were saved from the fumes even though the previous newspapers had predicted the mask wouldn’t be enough to save anyone (Olson 27). The …show more content…

He had to hire white salesman and pretend to be their Native American assistant named “Big Chief” Mason in order to sell any (Olson 27). Garrett created a few other very important inventions before the gas mask, such as the hair straightener, which he created by accidently with a liquid he used to polish needles that he found out could completely straighten the hair (“Garrett A Morgan” 1). After he invented the gas mask, he created the three-signal traffic light, which he patented in 1923. He created the light after he witnessed a deadly accident with a vehicle and a horse and carriage (McCree 4) Garrett developed glaucoma and died on July 27, 1963 shortly before the anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, in which he was eagerly awaiting to attend (Chamberlain …show more content…

“Garrett Morgan- Inventor of the Gas Mask and Traffic Signal”. The Black Inventor Online Museum. March 23, 2012. “Frontiers of Science”. African American Voices of Triumph: Leadership. Time Life Inc, 1993. 34. “Garrett A. Morgan”. BLACFAX. Winter 95. McCree, Robyn. “How African American Inventor Garrett A. Morgan Changed The World”. History Magazine. Aug/Sep 2017. 36. Olson, Tod. “The Fire-Breather”. Scope.Scholastic.com. February 2017. 25. Williams, Jasmin. “A history of invention: Garrett Augustus Morgan”. The New York Amsterdam News. November 29-December 5, 2012.

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