Marie Van Brittan Brown
                     MARIE VAN BRITTAN BROWN: HOME SECURITY 
SYSTEM INVENTOR
INTRODUCTION
African American inventor Marie Van Brittan 
Brown contributed to a safer society with her 
invention of the first home security system.  Her 
invention was the first closed-circuit television 
security system and paved the way for modern 
home security systems used today. 
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Source: lemelson.mit.edu
BIRTH
Brown was born in 1922 in Jamaica, Queens, New 
York. She started off her career working as a 
nurse. Her husband, Albert Brown, was an 
electronics technician. 
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Source: www.smithsonianmag.com 
EARLY LIFE
As a nurse, 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, Brown decided to figure out  a 
way to see who was at her door if she heard 
knocking. 
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INVENTED A SECURITY SYSTEM 
In 1966, Brown, along with the assistance of her 
husband, invented a security system which 
consisted of four peepholes, a sliding camera, 
television monitors, and two-way microphones. 
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PATENT FOR THE INVENTION
In 1969, Brown and her husband received a 
patent for the invention under the U.S. Patent 
number 3,482,037. 
Her invention was recognized in The New York 
Times and she received an award from the 
National Scientists Committee for her work. 
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Source: www.smithsonianmag.com 
LEGACY
Though the Browns’ Home Security System 
proved to be beyond the means of most 
households in the 1960s its influence seems 
beyond doubt in the 2020s. 
Perhaps tellingly, aspects of its design started to 
find their way into business security before they 
were widely utilised in homes.
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Source: www.smithsonianmag.com 
INVENTION
Her invention formed a system that is still 
relevant in today’s society with use in places 
such as  banks, office buildings, and apartment 
complexes. 
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Source: www.smithsonianmag.com 
DEATH
Brown passed away at the age of 76 in 1999, but 
her legacy continues.  Brown’s contribution to 
home security led her invention to be cited in 32 
subsequent patent applications.
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Source: www.smithsonianmag.com 
THANK YOU
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