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Garrett A. Morgan is emerging as a larger-than-life figure in American history.
International recognition for the brilliant Cleveland entrepreneur comes a century after his life-saving inventions helped reshape the modern world — from the battlefield to the firehouse to the family road trip.
He possessed a unique humanitarian gift for turning tragedy into life-saving inventions.
The son of former slaves, Morgan conceived and patented the three-signal traffic control in 1923, after he reportedly witnessed a tragic automobile accident on a Cleveland street corner.
His vision of safer streets now helps control the ebb and flow of millions of automobiles and pedestrians on busy roads all across the globe.
A decade earlier, he patented the first gas mask in …