View full sizeCleveland News fileGarrett Morgan, an inventor and part of Cleveland's black history, in 1949. As part of Black History Month, we remember Garrett Augustus Morgan, a Cleveland inventor and businessman best known for creating the modern-day gas mask and traffic light. Morgan, the son of former slaves, was born March 4, 1877. He moved to Cleveland in 1895 and was employed as a sewing machine repairman for a clothing manufacturer.