Marie Van Brittan Brown invented the modern home security system

• Posted on Aug 5, 2023

Marie Van Brittan Brown   (October 30, 1922- February 2, 1999)

Queens, New York     Nurse and Inventor

Inventor of modern home security system and  She is also credited with the invention of the first closed circuit television!

• The pioneering force behind the home security systems we all use today is someone you may not have heard of- Marie Van Brittan Brown.
• She was the inventor of the first home security system. She is also credited with the invention of the first closed circuit TV.
• Working as a nurse forced Marie to keep irregular hours. Because she was not privy to a 9-5 working day, and her husband worked as an electrical technician, she often found herself home alone late at night.
• After the crime rate in her neighborhood spiked, she decided to take matters into her own hands and invent a home monitoring system that would make feel safe in her own apartment.

THE INNOVATION

• Marie was instrumental in bringing two-way communication and surveillance to home security. Both facets are still in use but how did she do it???
  • Her system had 4 peepholes at different heights to see everyone at the door and a camera that was attached to a cabinet and placed on the front door
  • The camera was able to slide up and down to look through each peephole
  • Whatever the camera picked up would appear on a monitor
  • A voice component with a two-way microphone allowed you to speak to whoever was at the door
  • An alarm button lets you contact the police immediately if you felt you were in danger
  • A remote control lets you unlock the door
• In 1966, Marie and her husband Albert Brown applied for the Home Security System Utilizing Television Surveillance—they were the FIRST to apply for a patent of this kind
• In 1969, the patent was approved and the home security system designed by Marie and her husband would become the standard protection kit for households and small businesses across the world.
• The patent consisted of a monitor, display screen, speaker, microphone, alarm button and door lock
• The home security systems used today are a smaller more advanced version of what Marie invented nearly 50 years ago
• Although the system was originally intended for domestic uses, many businesses began to adopt her system due to its effectiveness.
• She was interviewed by The New York Times and they referred to her invention as the audio video alarm system
• Marie Brown told The New York Times the couple invented the device because police were slow in responding to emergencies in their neighborhood.
• She received an award from the National Scientists Committee for her cutting edge invention
• The Browns patent has been referenced by 13 inventors who needed to use some aspect of the closed-circuit system to create their own device-the last reference was in 2013
• Her daughter Norma Brown, followed in her mother’s footsteps by becoming a nurse and inventor in the field of health.