Marie Van Brittan Brown an African-American inventor

Marie Van Britton-Brown was a nurse in Jamaica, Queens, NY. She often worked odd hours, and was home alone. Looking for a way to feel more secure, she worked with her husband Albert Brown, an electronics technician, to develop a way to see who was at the door without having to respond or answer. The result was a camera system that could view through "peep holes' in the door at various heights. It also included a speaker system for communicating with the visitor. This handy invention, which they patented in 1966 (approved in 1969), became the prototype for future home security systems.