February 2nd in African American History – Marie Van Brittan Brown

February 2, 1999 Marie Van Brittan Brown, inventor of a closed circuit television security system, died.

Brown was born October 30, 1922 in Queens, New York. On December 2, 1969 she received patent number 3,482,037 for a Closed Circuit Television Security System. The system used a motorized camera which slid up and down looking through a set of four peepholes.

Anything the camera picked up was shown on a monitor viewed by the occupant. An electrical switch allowed the occupant to unlock the door by remote control.