Marjorie Joyner facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Marjorie Joyner
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Joyner c. 1950s
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| Born |
Marjorie Stewart
October 24, 1896 Monterey, Virginia, U.S.
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| Died | December 7, 1994 (aged 98) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
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| Education | Bethune-Cookman College |
| Occupation |
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| Known for | Being the first African-American woman create and patent a permanent hair-wave machine. |
| Spouse(s) |
Robert E. Joyner
(m. 1916; died 1973) |
| Children | 2 |
Marjorie Joyner (born Marjorie Stewart, October 24, 1896 – December 27, 1994) was an amazing American businesswoman. She was a hair care expert, a generous helper, a teacher, and an activist. Joyner is famous for being the first African-American woman to invent and get a patent for a machine that could make hair permanently wavy.
Besides her work in hair care, Joyner was very active in the African-American community in Chicago. She led the Chicago Defender Charity network. She also helped organize the Bud Billiken Day Parade and raised money for many schools.
Contents
Marjorie Joyner's Life Story
Growing Up and Getting an Education
Marjorie Joyner was born in 1896 in Monterey, Virginia. Her father, George Emmanuel Stewart, was a teacher. Her mother was Annie Stewart. Joyner's grandmother had been a slave. Her grandfather was a white slave-owner.
In 1904, Joyner's family moved to Dayton, Ohio. Three years later, her parents divorced. After that, Joyner lived with different relatives in Ohio and Virginia.
In 1912, when she was 16, Joyner moved to Chicago, Illinois. She went to live with her mother there. In 1914, she earned a certificate in dramatic art from Chicago Musical College.
Joyner then started studying cosmetology, which is the art of hair and beauty. In 1916, she graduated from A.B. Molar Beauty School. She was the first African American person to graduate from that school.
She later earned her high school diploma in 1939. In 1973, at 77 years old, Joyner earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from Bethune-Cookman College.
Marjorie Joyner's Career in Hair Care
Soon after finishing beauty school, Joyner opened her own salon. She later met Madam C. J. Walker, a famous African American beauty entrepreneur. Madam Walker owned a huge cosmetic company. Joyner started working for Walker as a sales representative.
By 1920, Joyner was the national adviser for Madam Walker's 200 beauty schools. She taught about 15,000 stylists. She also trained Walker's sales representatives who sold products door-to-door.
After her time with Walker's beauty schools, Joyner helped create new products. One of her most important inventions was her permanent wave machine. In the early 1940s, Joyner also helped write the first laws for cosmetology in Illinois.
On October 27, 1945, Joyner helped start a special group. It was a sorority and fraternity for people in the beauty industry. She founded it with famous educator Mary McLeod Bethune and U.S. congressman William Dawson. The group was called Alpha Chi Pi Omega.
In 1945, Joyner and Mary McLeod Bethune also founded the United Beauty School Owners and Teachers Association. This was a national group for African-American beauticians. In the 1940s, Joyner advised the Democratic National Committee. She also advised several New Deal agencies. These agencies wanted to connect with African-American women.
Marjorie Joyner's Permanent Wave Machine
In 1939, Joyner wanted to find an easier way for women to curl their hair. She got an idea from watching a pot roast cook with paper pins. She thought these pins could help prepare hair faster too.
Joyner first tried using paper rods to curl hair. Soon, she designed a table that could curl or straighten hair by wrapping it. This new method made hairstyles last for several days. At first, some people found her invention uncomfortable.
So, Joyner made it better. She added a simple scalp protector for ladies while their hair was being curled. She received a patent for this design (U.S. patent #1,693,515). This made her the first African American woman to get a patent.
Some people say that Sarah E. Goode was the first African American woman to hold a patent. It is sometimes wrongly said that Joyner invented the first permanent wave machine. Joyner's design was a different version of Karl Nessler's invention. Nessler's machine was invented in England in the late 1800s. He patented it in London in 1909 and in the United States in 1925.
Joyner's design was very popular in salons. Both African American and white women used it. The patent was given to Walker's company. Joyner herself received almost no money for her invention.
Marjorie Joyner's Family and Later Life
Marjorie Joyner was married once and had two children. On April 4, 1916, when she was 19, she married Robert E. Joyner, a podiatrist. They stayed married until he passed away in 1973. They had two daughters, Anne and Barbara Joyner.
Marjorie Joyner died on December 27, 1994. She was 98 years old. She passed away from heart failure at her home in Chicago, Illinois.
Marjorie Joyner's Legacy
In 1987, the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., opened a special exhibit. It featured Joyner's permanent wave machine. It also showed a copy of her first salon.
On October 24, 1990, Joyner's 95th birthday, the city of Chicago honored her. They declared her birthday Marjorie Stewart Joyner Day in the city. Today, her important papers are kept at the Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection. This collection is part of the Chicago Public Library.
See also
In Spanish: Marjorie Joyner para niños
