Identification: African American entrepreneur and philanthropist
Born: December 23, 1867; Delta, Louisiana
Died: May 25, 1919; Irvingtonon-Hudson, New York
Significance: The daughter of former slaves, Walker became the first female millionaire in the United States by developing and marketing hair-care products for African American women.
Madam C. J. Walker was born Sarah Breedlove. She was orphaned when she was ten years old and widowed with a young daughter when she was only twenty years old. In 1889, she moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where she often earned only $1.50 per week as a washerwoman. Determined to create a better life for her family, in 1903, Breedlove began selling Wonderful Hair Grower for the Poro Company. A firm believer in self-improvement, she also took night-school classes. In 1905, she joined family in Denver and continued to sell haircare products. In 1906, she married C. J. Walker, a newspaper sales agent whose name she later used to represent her company.


Shortly thereafter, Walker developed her own line of hair-care products for African American women. She claimed that her “secret formula” came to her in a dream. Others have speculated that the ingredients were based on the Poro products. She adopted the title of “Madam” and traveled extensively selling products and training women in the “Walker Method” of hair care.
In 1910, Walker relocated her company from Pittsburgh to Indianapolis, building offices and a manufacturing plant. The Madam C. J. Walker Manufacturing Company provided work for approximately three thousand African American women. An additional twenty thousand agents sold Walker products throughout the United States, the Caribbean, and Central America. Her financial success allowed her to contribute generously to numerous organizations devoted to enhancing the status of African Americans. At the time of her death, Walker’s estimated worth was $700,000.

See also: Seneca Falls Convention; Women in business.