A Safer Home Amid Rising Crime
In the 1960s, Marie Van Brittan Brown, a nurse in Queens, New York, grew concerned about safety due to rising crime and slow police response times. Working with her husband, Albert, she designed a system to make her home more secure.
The First Home Security System
Marie’s invention included a motorized camera, four peepholes to see visitors of varying heights, a microphone, speaker, and a TV monitor. It even had an alarm to contact police via radio, pioneering the use of closed-circuit television in homes.
A Vision Ahead of Its Time
In 1966, the Browns filed a patent for the device, approved in 1969. Though it wasn’t manufactured due to high costs, it laid the foundation for modern home security, influencing 35 patents and inspiring systems that emerged decades later.
An Enduring Impact
Marie passed away in 1999, but her invention helped shape today’s $4.8 billion home security industry, demonstrating how her innovative thinking transformed safety at home.
In the 1960s, Marie Van Brittan Brown, a nurse in Queens, New York, grew concerned about safety due to rising crime and slow police response times. Working with her husband, Albert, she designed a system to make her home more secure. pic.twitter.com/goiIISpZ5V
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