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Marie Van Brittan Brown — Institutional portrait illustration—not a historical photographPortrait illustration
Portrait illustration.Institutional portrait illustration—not a historical photograph. Portrait illustration presented by Lemelson-MIT; artist not identified on the inspected page. Image credit & source

Invention · Electronics · Home safety

Marie Van Brittan Brown

1922–1999

STEMUS

Brown and her husband, Albert Brown, developed a home-security design that combined a camera, monitor, two-way communication, remote door control, and an alarm. They received a patent in 1969. The system addressed a problem she experienced personally and became a reference for later security inventions.[1],[2]

Read this story

Brown and her husband, Albert Brown, developed a home-security design that combined a camera, monitor, two-way communication, remote door control, and an alarm. They received a patent in 1969. The system addressed a problem she experienced personally and became a reference for later security inventions.[1],[2]

Local connection. National-to-local curriculum connection: identify a practical need in a classroom or home and sketch a helpful invention. No California connection is claimed.

Impact reached: United States home-security design; Later security-system inventors. (Impact describes who was reached; it is not a place of residence.)

Inquiry & making

Inquiry and making prompt

What everyday task could an invention make easier? Draw it and label the parts; explain who it would help.

Places

Where Marie was born, had roots or studied, and worked — distinguished from where their impact reached.

Born
Jamaica, Queens, New York City, New York
Roots / education
Jamaica, Queens, New York
Worked
New York City, New York
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Mapped places for Marie Van Brittan Brown
RelationshipDocumented placeMap pointSources
BirthplaceJamaica, Queens, New York City, New YorkNew York city, NYCensus representative point[1][2]
Roots / educationJamaica, Queens, New YorkNew York city, NYCensus representative point[1][2]
WorkNew York City, New YorkNew York city, NYCensus representative point[1][2]

Timeline

  1. 1922

    Born — Jamaica, Queens, New York City, New York[1]

  2. 1969

    They received a patent in 1969.[1]

  3. 1999

    Died[1]

Gallery

Portrait only in this edition; no reuse-supported contextual media has been verified for this figure yet.

Marie Van Brittan Brown: Institutional portrait illustration—not a historical photograph
Marie Van Brittan Brown — portrait illustrationInstitutional portrait illustration—not a historical photograph.Credit: Portrait illustration presented by Lemelson-MIT; artist not identified on the inspected pageLicense / rights: Classroom review: rights and underlying likeness provenance not verified. Prefer patent drawing for public-release editions until cleared.Source recordOriginal-quality file
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References

  1. [1]
    Lemelson-MIT: Marie van Brittan Brown

    Supports: Queens origins, nurse occupation, system components, joint 1969 patent, 1922–1999 dates.

  2. [2]
    Princeton Center on Science and Technology: Marie van Brittan Brown

    Supports: Joint invention and limits on manufacture; biographical context.

Last reviewed 2026-11-08 · Initial research edition · Record ID marie-van-brittan-brown. A curated, source-informed article — not openly editable and not independently scholar-reviewed. Corrections process.