If you have a home security system, you can thank Marie Van Brittan.
👩🏾⚕️ A nurse who worked irregular hospital hours in Queens, New York, Van Brittan often felt unsafe returning home at odd times. So in 1961, she collaborated with her husband, an electrical technician, to devise the world’s first closed-circuit television network. Van Brittan eventually expanded her closed-circuit video network into a comprehensive home alarm system with four peepholes, a sliding camera, television monitors, two-way microphones, and even a remote to unlock the door or notify the police! By pushing a button, Van Brittan could see who was at the door and how to respond.
🛡️ Marie Van Brittan’s invention led to 32 commercial patents and paved the way for modern security systems – a $60 billion industry today. The New York Times newspaper hailed her work as among the most influential inventions of the 1960s, with Time Magazine naming Van Brittan ‘Scientist of the Year’ for 1969.
Van Brittan’s approach to innovation combined experiencing a challenge first-hand with the unique resources around her — to envision a solution no one else could.
Who in the Arts, past or present, reminds you of Marie Van Brittan?
#connectingthedots
