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Ohio inventions and firsts · Invention · 1914

Safety hood (early gas mask) and Lake Erie tunnel rescue

Garrett Morgan patented a flexible hood with air tubes drawing cleaner air from near the floor; he used it in the 1916 Lake Erie tunnel rescue in Cleveland.

At a glance

Year
1914
By
Garrett A. Morgan
Place
Cleveland, Cuyahoga County ZIP 44114 · Cleveland · Cuyahoga County
Patent
US 1,113,675 US 1,113,675 ('Breathing device', filed Aug 19 1912, granted Oct 13 1914)

The story

Smoke and gas kill quickly in places like tunnels and burning buildings. Garrett Morgan designed a flexible hood with air tubes that reached down toward the floor, where cleaner air collects, so a wearer could breathe where others could not. He patented it in 1914.

The device had its test on the night of July 24, 1916 (some sources give July 25). An explosion trapped workers in a water intake tunnel about 50 feet below Lake Erie. Morgan, his brother and two other volunteers went in with the hood and pulled out men who had been left behind by earlier rescue attempts; Wikipedia counts two, and some accounts say more. Morgan made four trips in all.

The rescue brought him attention and orders. Whether his hood influenced the gas masks of World War I is debated, and the sources do not settle it. What is clear is that Morgan, who had only a sixth-grade education, built the device and used it himself.

He went on to other ventures, including a hair-care company he launched in 1913 and a newspaper, the Cleveland Call, in 1920.

Timeline

  • 1914: Morgan is granted a patent for the safety hood. (Washington, D.C.) source
  • 1916-07-24: After a tunnel explosion, Morgan and three others go into the Lake Erie tunnel and bring out trapped workers. (Cleveland, OH) source
  • 1913: Morgan launches his hair-care company. (Cleveland, OH) source
  • 1920: Morgan founds the Cleveland Call newspaper. (Cleveland, OH) source

What it changed

  • The 1916 tunnel was about 50 feet below the lake; Morgan made four trips inside.
  • He and the three other volunteers brought out men left from earlier rescue attempts (Wikipedia counts two).

Why it matters

Early smoke hood and forerunner of respirators.

Who gets the credit is disputed

The Ohio claim. Garrett Morgan patented a flexible hood with air tubes that drew cleaner air from near the floor, and he used it in the 1916 Lake Erie tunnel rescue in Cleveland.

The other claims. How much his hood led to the gas masks of World War I is debated.

Places in Ohio to see

Further reading

Sources

Confidence. High: the main facts were confirmed in sources we opened.