Marie Van Brittan Brown and her husband, Albert Brown often worked late hours. Because of this, Maria spent many nights home alone with their children. This led to her historic invention.
The family lived in Jamaica, Queens during a time when a severe lack of resources helped crime soar. The Brown family needed a solution for their safety. With the help of Albert, Marie created the first home security system.
The security system came equipped with peepholes, a camera, monitors, and a two-way microphone along with an alarm button that, when pressed, would contact the police. This early invention would be the basis for modern two-way communication surveillance systems.
The Browns filed a patent for their invention on August 1st, 1966, and it was approved on December 2nd, 1969. Brown went on to receive national recognition for her invention. But more importantly, she made her community safer.
Brown used her fears to create a system that would go on to protect us all. Collectively, we are the first and last line of defense for our community.