Max Factor, Sr.
| Max Factor | |
|---|---|
Max Factor in 1935, demonstrating his beauty micrometer device
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| Native name | Maksymilian Faktorowicz |
| Born |
Maksymilian Faktorowicz September 15, 1872 Zduńska Wola, Łódź, Congress Poland |
| Died | August 30, 1938 (aged 65) Beverly Hills, California |
| Cause of death | Illness after fright |
| Resting place | Currently Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City; previously Beth Olem mausoleum at the Hollywood Cemetery in Los Angeles |
| Monuments | Hollywood Walk of Fame (at 6922 Hollywood Boulevard) |
| Residence | Beverly Hills, California |
| Nationality | Polish |
| Education | Wig and cosmetics apprenticeship |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur; wig and cosmetics technician; inventor |
| Years active | 1887-1938 |
| Employer | Max Factor & Company |
| Organization | Max Factor & Company |
| Known for | Cosmetics |
| Successor | Max Factor Jr. (Francis "Frank" Factor) |
| Board member of | Max Factor & Company |
| Spouse(s) |
Esther Rosa "Lizzie" Factor (1896-1906) |
| Children | Freda Shore (1897), Cecilia Firestein (1899), Davis Factor (1902), Francis “Frank” Factor (1904), Louis Factor (1907 ), Sidney B. Factor (1916) |
| Parent(s) | Abraham Faktorowicz and Cecylia Wrocławska Faktorowicz |
| Relatives | John Factor (half-brother) |
| Awards | Honorary Academy Award (1929) |
Esther Rosa "Lizzie" Factor (1896-1906)
Huma "Helen" Sradkowska (1906-1908)
Max Factor (15 September 1872 – 30 August 1938), born Maksymilian Faktorowicz, was a Polish-Jewish businessman. Founder of the cosmetics giant Max Factor & Company, he largely developed the modern cosmetics industry and popularised the term make-up in noun form based on the verb.
Factor, of Jewish descent, was born in Zduńska Wola, Poland, to Abraham Factor (1850/52–before 1938) and Cecylia Wrocławska. His mother died in 1874 and his father, a hard-working grocer, rabbi or textile mill worker (depending upon the source), could not afford a formal education for his four children.
By the age of eight years, Factor was working as an assistant to a dentist/pharmacist. At the age of nine, he was apprenticed to a Łódź’s wig maker and cosmetician. That experience enabled him to gain a position at Anton's of Berlin, a leading hairstylist and cosmetics creator. By the age of fourteen, he was working at Korpo, a Moscow wig maker and cosmetician to the Imperial Russian Grand Opera. He spent the years from eighteen to twenty-two undertaking his compulsory military service in the Russian Army, where he served in the Hospital Corps.
Upon his discharge, he opened his own shop in the town of Ryazan', selling hand-made rouges, creams, fragrances, and wigs. He became well-known when a traveling theatrical troupe wore Factor’s cosmetics to perform for Russian nobility. The Russian nobility appointed Factor the official cosmetics expert for the royal family and the Imperial Russian Grand Opera, an honor which led to him being closely monitored. He married Esther Rosa (whom he called Lizzie) and by early 1904 they had produced three children, Freda, Cecilia and Davis. By 1904 concerned about the increasing anti-Jewish persecution developing in Russia he and his wife decided to follow his brother Nathan and uncle Fischel to America. Worried that he would not be released from his royal service, he arranged with the assistance of a friend to take a rest cure at Karlovy Vary. After meeting up with his family they traveled in the steerage class on board the S.S. Moltke III and were processed at Ellis Island on February 25, 1904; he had $40,000 in his possession. Upon arrival, his name was shortened by the customs inspector to "Factor."
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