Self-made millionaire. Philanthropist. Civil rights activist. A pioneer in social marketing
On December 23, Sarah Breedlove is born in Delta, Louisiana.
Sarah becomes an orphan.
Sarah marries Moses McWilliams.
Sarah and Moses welcome a daughter, Lelia McWilliams (A’Lelia Walker).
Moses passes away. Sarah, 20, and her daughter moved to St. Louis, where she gets a job as a washerwoman.
After seeking a solution to her own hair loss, Sarah begins making hair care products.
Sarah moves to Denver, Colorado, to start her business.
Sarah marries Charles Joseph Walker, and rebrands herself as Madam C. J. Walker.
Madam C. J. Walker opens Lelia College in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to train other women to use and sell her hair products.
Madam C. J. Walker builds a factory in Indianapolis, Indiana. She also takes up the cause of civil rights for African-Americans.
Madam C. J. Walker holds her first conference of the Madam Walker Beauty Culturists in Philadelphia.
Madam C. J. Walker commissions the first licensed African American architect in New York State to design her home in Irvington-on-Hudson.
On May 25, Madam C. J. Walker passes away at age 51.
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