Who Invented the Traffic Light? Garrett Morgan’s Pioneering Design #1840767 (License: Personal Use)

This black-and-white line drawing depicts Garrett Augustus Morgan’s 1923 traffic signal design, featuring three circular lights stacked vertically within a rectangular housing and flanked by side visors. Unlike earlier two-color systems, Morgan’s innovation introduced a third position-“caution”-to reduce collisions at intersections. The image includes clear attribution to Morgan, underscoring his critical yet often overlooked contribution to transportation infrastructure.

Used in educational articles, history blogs, STEM resources, and civil engineering content to illustrate the evolution of traffic control; targets users searching for “who invented the traffic light” or “Garrett Morgan traffic signal.”