On this day in 1914, on the corner of Euclid Avenue and East 105th Street in Cleveland, Ohio, the first ever electric signal was installed. In the earliest days of the automobile, transport was chaotic. The first traffic island was put into use in San Francisco, California in 1907. The introduction of traffic lights was revolutionary in increasing safety and order on the roads.

Despite the fact that a device installed in London in 1868 was able signal “stop” as well as “caution" and has also been described as the first traffic light, the Cleveland traffic light is more widely regarded as the first electric traffic signal.