Joyner, Marjorie Stewart
1896-1994 · Contribution: 1928
Permanent wave hair machine; beauty industry education leadership

Portraits are AI-generated interpretations, not photographs.
Impact on the world
Her permanent wave machine became standard salon equipment nationwide; she also became a top executive at Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing and co-founded a national beauty school association.
Life & background
A beautician and inventor, Joyner patented the permanent wave machine in 1928, a styling device used widely across the beauty industry. She rose to a senior leadership role at the Madam C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company and co-founded the United Beauty School Owners and Teachers Association, shaping beauty industry standards and education nationally.
Sources
- National Inventors Hall of Fame; Beautylish; Lemelson Foundation; U.S. National Archives; U.S. Patent 1693515
More in Business & Misc.
Ajao, Adeyemi
unknown
Co-founded Base10 Partners, the first Black-led venture capital firm to manage over $1 billion in assets
Allen, Byron
1961-present
Built Allen Media Group from a single bartered celebrity-interview show into a multibillion-dollar media empire spanning broadcast television stations, cable networks, The Weather Channel, and a controlling stake in BuzzFeed, making him one of the wealthiest Black media owners in American history
Allen, Eliza
c.1840-after 1910
Only woman listed on the founding charter of the first chartered African American-owned bank in the United States
Awotona, Tope
1981-
Founded Calendly, a widely used scheduling software platform