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People of Note - Obituaries
GenealogyBuff.com - Madame Sarah C.J. Walker, Cosmetic Mogel
Posted By: GenealogyBuff.com
Date: Sunday, 4 September 2016, at 6:36 p.m.
System Mechanic - Clean, repair, protect, and speed up your PC!Madame Sarah C.J. Walker, Cosmetic Mogel
December 23, 1867 - May 25, 1919
Madame C.J. Walker, wealthy cosmetic inventor and entrepreneur died on this day May 25, 1919 at the age of 51. Madame Walker overcame every obstacle she had stacked against her in order to become a success story. During the early 1900’s it was extremely rare for a woman of African-American origin to become a successful entrepreneur and self made millionaire. She started her cosmetics empire in 1905 after she developed and sold door to door a straightening lotion for women with kinky curly hair. Her real name was Sarah Breedlove and she was born in 1867 to Minerva and Owen Breedlove on the shores of the Mississippi River in northeast Louisiana.
The Madame C. J. Walker's Manufacturing Company employed principally women who worked as "Walker Agents" and sold Madame Walkers products door to door. Her products quickly became highly popular amongst African-American women in the North and in the Southern states. Her success eventually spread even to countries in Europe after French dancer Josephine Baker discovered Walker's pomade products. Madam Walker originally established her business in Denver and later in Pittsburgh in 1908. By 1910 she transferred operations and built her new headquarters in Indianapolis. The headquarters was re-named The Walker College of Hair Culture and Walker Manufacturing. The manufacturing plant was responsible for employing over three thousand people in the Indianapolis area.
Madame Walker was extremely charitable, she donated her time and money to a number of area organizations. She contributed generously to the National Association of Colored People (NAACP), Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) of Indianapolis and funded numerous scholarships for young women and men. On May 25, 1919 she died of chronic interstitial nephritis, kidney failure and hypertension at the Villa Lewaro estate.
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