Garret A. Morgan, have you ever heard of him? I didn’t think so. That’s why I need to say: without him, we would likely be experiencing car crashes every day. Morgan was an African American inventor and entrepreneur, best known for the modern traffic light. During his early years, he mostly spent time working on his family farm. He was the seventh child out of 11–a typical number of children for a family to have in the 19th century. In the early 20th century, as automobile traffic in urban areas grew, the need for better traffic control became critical to prevent accidents. Morgan witnessed a horrible car accident, which convinced him something should be done to prevent future accidents. While he observed the chaos at busy intersections, something sparked in him. During this time, most traffic lights only featured two colors, red and blue. Morgan devised a new system that introduced a third color: yellow. This simple change helped stop many car accidents, and Morgan was granted U.S. Patent No. 1475024 for his traffic signal on November 20th, 1923. At that time, his design surpassed all others; it was more advanced than any other model. His invention gained attention when it was displayed to city officials in Cleveland, Ohio. This system was implemented at intersections in the city and later became the basis for broader adoption across the United States. Although he made significant contributions to traffic safety, he did not earn much money. Even though his patent was granted, much of the credit for the widespread implementation of traffic signals was attributed to others, such as William Potts, who patented his version in 1927. He made multiple inventions such as the gas mask and safety helmet. Next time you look at a traffic light, remember who was responsible for it.