Marie Van Brittan Brown one of the inventors of the Home Security System

Marie van Brittan Brown

(1922-1999)

African American inventor Marie Van Brittan Brown, along with her husband Albert L. Brown contributed to a safer society with her invention of the first home security system. Their invention was the first closed-circuit television security system and paved the way for modern home security systems used today.

Mrs. Brown was born in 1922 in Jamaica, Queens, New York. She started off her career working as a nurse. Her husband, Albert L. Brown, was an electronic technician.

 As a nurse, Mrs. Brown worked long hours and would return home late at night. Her husband, too, had irregular hours so she was often alone at night. 

Fearful of being vulnerable in a high crime neighborhood, the Browns decided to figure out  a way to see who was at their door if they heard knocking.