Madame Walker

More of African American Innovations • Part I African American Innovations • Part 2 African American Innovations • Part 3 African American Innovations • Part 4 African American Innovations • Quiz on African American Innovations

Other Patent Points To Ponder • A Patent for a President • Fingerprints of Commerce • The Art of Toys • Three Part Harmony • The Art of Photography • The House That Innovation Built • Colors of Innovation • Mothers of Invention

Madame Walker was born in 1867 in poverty-stricken rural Louisiana. Walker was the daughter of former slaves, orphaned at the age of seven and widowed by 20. After her husband’s death, the young widow migrated to St. Louis, Missouri, seeking a better way of life for herself and her child. She supplemented her income as a wash woman by selling her homemade beauty products door-to-door. Eventually, Walker’s products formed the basis of a thriving national corporation employing at one point over 3,000 people. Her Walker System, which included a broad offering of cosmetics, licensed Walker Agents, and Walker Schools offered meaningful employment and personal growth to thousands of Black women. Madame Walker’s aggressive marketing strategy combined with relentless ambition led her to be labeled as the first known African-American woman to become a self-made millionaire.

An employee of Madame Walker’s empire, Marjorie Joyner, invented a permanent wave machine. This device, patented in 1928, curled or "permed" women’s hair for a relatively lengthy period of time. The wave machine was popular among women white and black allowing for longer-lasting wavy hair styles. Joyner went on to become a prominent figure in Madame Walker’s industry, though she never profited directly from her invention, for it was the assigned property of the Walker Company. 

James West, Ph.D., is a Bell Laboratories Fellow at Lucent Technologies where he specializes in electro, physical, and architectural acoustics. His research in the early 1960s led to the development of foil-electret transducers for sound recording and voice communication that are used in 90% of all microphones built today and at the heart of most new telephones being manufactured.

West holds 47 U.S. and more than 200 foreign patents on microphones and techniques for making polymer foil-electrets. He has authored more than 100 papers and contributed to books on acoustics, solid state physics, and material science. West has received numerous awards including the Golden Torch Award in 1998 sponsored by the National Society of Black Engineers, the Lewis Howard Latimer Light Switch and Socket Award in 1989, and was chosen New Jersey Inventor of the Year for 1995.

While employed by Procter & Gamble, Dennis Weatherby developed and received a patent for the automatic dishwasher detergent known by the tradename Cascade. He received his Master’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Dayton in 1984. Cascade is a registered trademark of the Procter & Gamble Company.

Dr. Frank Crossley is a pioneer in the field of titanium metallurgy. He began his work in metals at Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago after receiving his graduate degrees in metallurgical engineering. In the 1950s, few African Americans were visible in the engineering fields, but Crossley excelled in his field. He received seven patents, five in titanium base alloys that greatly improved the aircraft and aerospace industry.

Originally from Haiti, Michel Molaire is currently a research associate at the Office Imaging Research and Development Group of Eastman Kodak. You can thank him for some of your most treasured Kodak Moments.

Molaire received his B.S. degree in chemistry, M.S. degree in chemical engineering, and M.B.A. degree from the University of Rochester. He has been with Kodak since 1974. After receiving more than 20 patents, Molaire was inducted into Eastman Kodak’s Distinguished Inventor’s Gallery in 1994.

In addition to a long, distinguished career at NASA, Valerie Thomas is also the inventor of an illusion transmitter. Thomas’ invention transmits by cable or electromagnetic means a three-dimensional, real-time image. One day you may be able to watch your favorite entertainers move around your living room while they are performing miles away.

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