Marie Van Brittan Brown

Inventor

• Born: October 30, 1922
• Birthplace: New York, New York
• Died: February 2, 1999
• Place of death: New York, New York

Also known as: Marie Van Brittan

Significance: Marie Van Brittan Brown and her husband, Albert L. Brown, invented the first home security system in the United States. It led to the development and rise of home security systems, including contemporary closed circuit-television systems.

Background

Marie Van Brittan Brown was born on October 30, 1922, in Jamaica, a neighborhood in Queens, New York. She was raised and spent her entire life there. As an adult, Brown became a nurse and worked nights at a hospital in Jamaica, Queens. After a rise of crime in her neighborhood, she became concerned about her safety. She slept during the daytime and was often home alone while her husband, Albert L. Brown, was at work as an electronics technician. Although the police responded to emergency calls, their response times were typically slow.

Invention of the Home Security System

To counter the increased crime rate in her area, Brown decided to create a surveillance system that would enable her to see anyone outside their home and immediately contact the police. Brown and her husband devised a home surveillance system made up of a motorized camera, a monitor, audio equipment, four peepholes, and two buttons. The peepholes would be placed in the front door at different heights to accommodate a tall adult, a child, and all heights in between. A motorized surveillance camera that could move up and down would be attached to the interior of the front door and could be controlled by someone inside the home to allow viewing through the desired peephole. The camera would scan the area outside the front door and transmit images to a video receiver that appeared on the monitor, which would be placed in a cabinet in the Brown’s bedroom. The audio equipment consisted of microphones, speakers, antennas, transmitters, receivers, amplifiers, oscillators, and switches that allowed for two-way communication between people inside and outside the home, as well as for recording of conversations. One of the buttons was a radio-controlled alarm that, when pressed, would create a siren to signal an emergency. The other button allowed the door to be locked or unlocked via remote control. Additional apparatus could be placed at a guard station or other external location to receive an alert when the alarm button was engaged. The recording device allowed for both sound and images to be transmitted to the guard station so a security guard or other individual could monitor what was occurring at the home in the case of an intruder or break-in.

Brown and her husband submitted their invention to the US Patent Office on August 1, 1966. Classified as a door telephone, it was assigned patent number 3,482,037. Three drawings submitted with the patent application described it as a home security system utilizing television surveillance and showed each component, their assembly, and the electrical schematics. The written description of the invention cited its objectives: to provide a visual means to scan visitors to the house; to allow for audio communication between people inside and outside the house when the door was shut and locked; to provide a security system for the house that could be controlled by an occupant of the house; and to allow for a signal to alert a watchman, guard, or other person outside the home of an intruder. The description also provided a detailed explanation of the electrical controls, reflecting Albert Brown’s expertise as an electronics technician. The Browns cited three patents as references on their application: a television system invented by Edward D. Phinney in 1934; an identification system by Thomas J. Reardon in 1956; and a remote operated self-powered observation device including remotely controllable visual scanning means. These patent citations described patented inventions that had any similarity to the Browns’ invention. The Browns’ patent was granted on December 2, 1969.

There are few media reports or public records about the invention or the Browns after they received a patent for their invention. The New York Times wrote about the Browns’ patent in a December 6, 1969, article titled “Audio-Viewer Screens Callers,” but the media did not publish any follow-up stories indicating whether the Browns installed the system. For the invention, the National Scientists Committee honored Marie Van Brittan Brown with an award.

Impact

Because Marie Van Brittan Brown was listed first on the patent application, she is often cited as the inventor of the first home security system, even though both she and her husband created it. The security system they created was never commercially produced, but it became the basis for subsequent surveillance and closed-circuit television systems by inventors who used elements of the Browns’ invention in their own designs. By 2018, thirty-one patent applications cited the Browns’ patent. These inventions include monitoring systems, video and audio security systems, dual camera day/night monitoring apparatus, a remote access system for a vehicle, a visitor sensing device, a track mounted surveillance system with multiple conductors, and a containerized access control unit. The first patent application using the Browns’ invention was filed by Seaboard System Inc. for a monitoring system in 1971. More recent patent applications filed between 2011 and 2013 were for technology based on specific aspects of Browns’ system, including a wireless entrance communication device, an intercom set, and a method and system for remote coupling security system control.

Personal Life

The Browns had two daughters. One of their daughters, Norma Brown, also became a nurse and an inventor.

Bibliography

Brown, Marie Van Brittan and Albert L Brown. “US3482037: Home Security System Utilizing Television Surveillance.” United States Patent Office, 2 Dec. 1969. Google Patents, patents.google.com/patent/US3482037A/en. Accessed 24 Sept. 2018.

Davis, Marlene. “Forgotten Black Couple Created Your Home Security Alarm.” Lexington Herald-Leader, 1 Dec. 2012, www.kentucky.com/news/local/community/article44391675.html. Accessed 24 Sept. 2018.

Hill, Rebecca. “Brown, Marie Van Brittan (1922–1999).” Black Past, 2017, www.blackpast.org/aah/brown-marie-van-brittan-1922-1999. Accessed 24 Sept. 2018.

Isselhardt. Tiffany R. “Three Awesome STEM Women in History.” Owlcation, 8 Mar. 2018, owlcation.com/humanities/Five-Awesome-STEM-Women-in-History. Accessed 24 Sept. 2018.

Jones, Stacy V. “Audio-Viewer Screens Callers.” The New York Times, 6 Dec. 1969, pp. 55, 59. Timesmachine, timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1969/12/06/88869198.pdf. Accessed 24 Sept. 2018.

Taylor, Mildred Europa. “Meet Marie Van Brittan Brown, Inventor of Home Security System.” Face 2 Face Africa, 11 Mar. 2018, face2faceafrica.com/article/womens-history-month-meet-marie-van-brittan-brown-inventor-home-security-system. Accessed 24 Sept. 2018.