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Profile of the Day: Madam C.J. Walker

On this day in 1867, entrepreneur, philanthropist, and activist Madam C.J. Walker was born. Walker was one of the first African American female self-made millionaires in the United States.

Image: Madam C.J. Walker/ Wikimedia Commons

Walker was born Sarah Breedlove on December 23, 1867 near Delta, Louisiana to Owen Breedlove and Minerva Anderson. The fifth of six children, Walker was the first child in her family to be born into freedom after the Emancipation Proclamation. Orphaned by the age of 7, Walker was sent to live with her sister, Louvinia. She married at the age of 14 to escape her brother-in-law’s abuse. A widow and single parent at the age of 20, Walker moved to St. Louis where she worked as a laundress and attended night school.

She was inspired to create hair products for African American women after a scalp disorder caused her to lose much of her hair. She began experimenting with homemade remedies and developed her own treatment that would transform the hair care industry for African Americans. She founded the Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company and became one of the first African American female self-made millionaires in the country.

Walker died on May 25, 1919 at the age of 51.

Walker’s family tree is not yet connected to the World Family Tree. Perhaps you can help expand her family tree and connect her to over 150 million people on Geni.

View Madam C.J. Walker’s Geni Profile

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Source: Geni.com

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