Annie Turnbo Malone (1869-1957)
Born to former slaves in August of 1869(could possibly be 1877), Annie Turnbo attended public school in Metropolis, Illinois. In 1896, Turnbo moved to Peoria to live with her sister, Ada Moody, and attended high school. She excelled in chemistry before eventually having to drop out. While at home, she took an interest in haircare. Turnbo used her chemistry knowledge to develop hair products of a higher grade than the scalp-damaging greases and fats often used at the time. In the early 1900s, she moved to Lovejoy(now Brooklyn, Illinois) where she developed her own non-damaging hair product for African American women called "Wonderful Hair Grower" and began promoting it. As she pulled in sales, Turnbo opened up her first shop in 1902. She eventually copyrighted all of her products under the name "Poro," which would later serve as the cosmetology school and African American center she opened up in 1918. By the 1920s, Turnbo was a multi-millionaire and is now known as the first African American millionaire. Still, she made sure to give back, donating to Howard University, the St. Louis Colored Orphans Home, and the local black YMCA. She was an honorary member of the Zeta Phi Beta sorority, to raise awareness for African American issues. On May 10, 1957, she suffered a fatal stroke. Her $100,000 dollars worth(equal to $943,746.38 in today's economy) of estate was divided amongst her nieces and nephews.
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