Walker, Sarah Breedlove

Walker, Sarah Breedlove
orig. Sarah Breedlove

born Dec. 23, 1867, near Delta, La., U.S.
died May 25, 1919, Irvington, N.Y.

U.S. businesswoman and philanthropist, the first African American female millionaire.

She was a widowed washerwoman with a daughter to support in 1905 when she developed a method for straightening curly hair. She founded the Madame C.J. Walker Manufacturing Co. to sell her treatment, and her door-to-door saleswomen became familiar figures in the black communities of the U.S. and the Caribbean. In 1910 she moved her company to Indianapolis, Ind. She augmented her earnings with shrewd real-estate investments, and she donated two-thirds of her fortune to charitable and educational institutions. Her daughter, A'Lelia Walker Kennedy, hosted salons where artists and cultural figures mingled during the Harlem Renaissance.

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▪ American businesswoman and philanthropist
née  Sarah Breedlove,  byname  Madame C.J. Walker  
born Dec. 23, 1867, near Delta, La., U.S.
died May 25, 1919, Irvington, N.Y.

      businesswoman and philanthropist generally acknowledged to be the first black female millionaire in the United States.

      Sarah Breedlove married at the age of 14, and at 20, then a widow, she moved to St. Louis, Missouri. She worked as a washerwoman for some years and during that time began experimenting at home with various hair dressings. In 1905 she developed a formula for creating a smooth, shiny coiffure for African American women. She quickly achieved local success with what later became known as the “Walker Method” or “Walker System.” Moving to Denver, Colorado, in 1906, she married Charles J. Walker, and thenceforward she was known as Madame C.J. Walker.

      Walker organized agents to sell her hair treatment door-to-door and in 1910 transferred her business—by then the Madame C.J. Walker Manufacturing Co.—to Indianapolis, Indiana. Her company at its peak employed some 3,000 people, many of them “Walker agents”—saleswomen dressed in long black skirts and white blouses who became familiar figures in the black communities of the United States and the Caribbean. Walker was president and sole proprietor of her company, and she soon became one of the best-known figures in America. Through the example of entertainer Josephine Baker (Baker, Josephine), the Walker System coiffure became popular in Europe as well.

      Walker augmented her fortune with shrewd real estate investments. Generous with her money, she included in her extensive philanthropies educational scholarships, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, homes for the aged, and the National Conference on Lynching. She bequeathed her estate to various charitable and educational institutions and to her daughter, A'Lelia Walker (Walker, A'Lelia), who was later known for supporting an intellectual salon—known as the Dark Tower—that helped to stimulate the cultural Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Walker,Sarah Breedlove — Walker, Sarah Breedlove. Known as “Madam C.J. Walker.” 1867 1919. American businesswoman who developed a straightening agent for hair (1905) and built the most successful Black owned company of her day. * * * …   Universalium

  • Walker, Sarah Breedlove — orig. Sarah Breedlove (23 dic. 1867, cerca de Delta, La., EE.UU.–25 may. 1919, Irvington, N.Y.). Empresaria y filántropa estadounidense. Fue la primera mujer millonaria afroamericana. Era una lavandera viuda con una hija que mantener cuando en… …   Enciclopedia Universal

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  • Walker, A'Lelia — ▪ American businesswoman original name  Lelia McWilliams  born June 6, 1885, Vicksburg, Miss., U.S. died Aug. 16, 1931, Long Branch, N.J.       American businesswoman associated with the Harlem Renaissance as a patron of the arts who provided an… …   Universalium

  • Sarah — /sair euh/, n. 1. the wife of Abraham and mother of Isaac. Gen. 17:15 22. 2. a female given name. [ Heb sarah princess] * * * I flourished early 2nd millennium BC In the Hebrew scriptures, the wife of Abraham and mother of Isaac. She was… …   Universalium

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  • walker — /waw keuhr/, n. 1. an enclosing framework on casters or wheels for supporting a baby who is learning to walk. 2. a similar device, usually a waist high four legged framework of lightweight metal, for use by a weak or disabled person as a support… …   Universalium

  • Breedlove — The name Breedlove can refer to:People named Breedlove:*Craig Breedlove, five time world land speed record holder *Dennis E. Breedlove, American botanist *Lynn Breedlove, American musician *Rod Breedlove, former American Football linebacker… …   Wikipedia

  • Madam C. J. Walker — Madam C.J. Walker Madam Walker in a photograph ca. 1914 by Addison Scurlock. Birth name Sarah Breedlove Born December 23, 1867 Delta, Louisiana …   Wikipedia

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