Traffic lights are an extremely useful technology product that regulates traffic flow at intersections with heavy traffic, makes our lives easier and saves time. So when and by whom was it invented?
Traffic signposts with the words "stop" and "late" were first used in London in 1868. This sign was placed on seven-meter-high iron columns in London's Parliament Square, at the corner of Bridge Street and New Palace Yard Street, and was put into service on 10 December 1868.
This first traffic light, whose construction was overseen by London Police Chief Richard Mayne, was designed to make it easier for parliamentarians to reach the parliament building more safely.
Most prominently, the inventor Garrett Morgan has been given credit for having invented the traffic signal based on his T-shaped design, patented in 1923 and later reportedly sold to General Electric.
The first traffic light, of course, was not automatic as it is today. A police officer was changing colors with a winding arm, trying to maintain order in this way. In this first traffic light, made by the Saxby and Farmer company, two red and green lanterns were rotating. Red meant "stop" and green meant "attention".
When this system, which regulates the traffic through the gas lamp inside, caused the death of a police officer as a result of the explosion of one of the gas lamps at that time, new searches were started. Seeking a solution to this problem, Morgan developed electric traffic lights consisting of green, yellow and red colors. The first of the electric traffic lights went into service on August 5, 1914, in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. American Traffic Signal Co. The 5-meter-high lamp produced by the company named Euclid was erected at the corner where Euclid Avenue meets 105th Street.
Apart from the red and green lights, there was also a warning sound. The red light meant "stop" and the green light meant "pass". A short time before the change of these lights, a sound warning was given. The French also benefited from the sound and light scheme of the traffic light they erected at the corner of the Grands Boulevards and Strasbourgh Boulevard in Paris in 1923.
Colors
In the 1830s, when the railways first started operating, the color of the warning light was green and the late light was white. After a while the white signal started to cause problems. The white "late" signal was mixed with other street lights. But worse, when the red lenses placed on the "stop" signs fell, the light turned white, perceived as a "late" signal and could cause accidents.
Eventually, those traveling on the railroad began to use red as a "stop", green as a "pass", and yellow as a "warning" signal.
Sold his patent to General Electric
Garrett Morgan, who graduated from elementary school and became the first black car owner in Cleveland, USA, developed the first electric automatic traffic light similar to the current ones, nearly 55 years after the traffic light experiments. Morgan, who started his first trials in 1914, received a patent in 1923. Just before his death in 1963, Morgan sold his patent to General Electric for $40,000.
Morgan's lamps consisted of two lamps, red and green, on a "T", similar to railroads. Not long after, a yellow lamp was added to mean "warning" and the application quickly spread all over the world. Despite the years that have passed, the color yellow still means "warning".