09/17/2026
Fun Fact: In 1966 the first home security system was invented by Marie Van Brittan Brown, a nurse living in Queens, New York and her husband Albert L. Brown, an electronics technician. Marie was concerned about her and her children’s safety as they were often home alone in the high crime neighborhood. Her safety concerns combined with slow emergency responses in her area motivated her to develop a security system that implemented closed-circuit television technology with her husband.
The system included:
-A push button alarm to contact police or others
-Three peepholes placed at different levels to adequately view tall adults, average sized adults and children
-A camera that moved from peephole to peephole and transmitted to a television.
-An electronic lock operated via remote control
-A microphone and loud speaker to facilitate communication without allowing access before safety was confirmed
Three years after applying, Marie and Albert finally received their patent for the security system on December 2, 1969.
It's hard to say where we would be today if Marie had not pursued her vision of safety in 1966. At the time of their invention equipment was costly and most homeowners were not familiar with surveillance technology which resulted in limited interest. However as society became more comfortable with technology Marie and Albert's story became an inspiration to many and in many ways contributed to our modern day security industry that has revolutionized how residences, commercial properties and occupants are protected.
Sources: https://wia.org/team/marie-van-brittan-brown/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Van_Brittan_Brown_and_Albert_L._Brown