What do you do when you’re working as a nurse, and you’re frustrated by the lack of response from the local police to crime?
Write your member of Congress? Start a protest rally at 1 Police Plaza? Invent a home security system?
Meet Marie Van Brittan Brown. In 1966, she and her husband took option number 3 and invented the home security system, including CCTV. Therefore, I invite you to discover more about her below.
About Marie Van Brittan Brown
Marie van Brittan Brown was born on 30 October 1922 in Jamaica, Queens, New York, and lived there until her death on 2 February 1999. Little is known about her early life.
At the time she invented the home security system, she worked as a nurse, and her husband, Albert Brown, was an electronics technician.
In the neighborhood where they lived, Jamaica, the crime rate shot up in the early 1960s by 35%. But the police weren’t doing much about it. When coming home late at night, Marie often felt unsafe, even at home.
Her contribution to the Internet
Frustrated by the lack of police response, she and her husband developed a system with cameras, closed-circuit televisions, wirelessly controlled locks, and a button that could send an alarm signal to police or security.
Her invention was patented in 1969 and received a decent amount of press attention. Marie was quoted in the New York Times saying that with her invention, “A woman alone could set off an alarm immediately by pressing a button, or if the system were installed in a doctor’s office, it might prevent holdups by drug addicts.”
No profit, but a lasting legacy
The female black inventor and her husband were far ahead of her time and never saw a dollar of proceeds from their invention. At the time, the cost of equipment was too high to make the technology attractive to manufacturers and home builders.
Even though the Browns never profited from their invention and patent, Marie’s home security system was the first in a long string of home security inventions. It laid the foundation for other versions of various security systems that are used today in homes, businesses, and some private and public places.
As of July 2024, Brown’s patent had been cited in 38 patent applications, and she received an award from the National Science Committee for her invention.
Role model for Women In Tech
Like a true role model, Marie inspired her daughter, Norma Brown, to follow in her footsteps. Norma became a nurse and an inventor with more than ten inventions to her name.
So, the next time you answer the doorbell on your phone from the convenience of your couch, thank Marie Van Brittan Brown.
Women Disrupting Tech | The Podcast 