On 9 December 1868, the first, non-electric, gas-lit traffic lights were installed outside the Houses of Parliament in London to control the traffic in Bridge Street, Great George Street and Parliament Street. They were promoted by the railway engineer J. P. Knight and constructed by the railway signal engineers of Saxby & Farmer. The design combined three semaphore arms with red and green gas lamps for night-time use, on a pillar, operated by a police constable. The gas lantern was manually turned by a traffic police officer, with a lever at its base so that the appropriate light faced traffic.
The electronic traffic light turns 101 on August 5. The first red and green lights were installed in Cleveland, Ohio, on August 5, 1914. The original design though came from a Salt Lake City cop named Lester Wire. He came up with the idea in 1912. The momentous occasion of the 101st anniversary of the traffic light is celebrated in the August 5 Google Doodle.
Post time: Jun-12-2017