SENIOR, MAX

SENIOR, MAX (1862–1939), U.S. businessman and communal leader. Senior, who was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, became the president of Model Homes Company, one of the first companies to construct low-cost housing on a large scale. Active in Jewish affairs, Senior was a founder of the United Jewish Social Agencies, a forerunner of the contemporary community chest. In 1896 he was the prime founder of the United Jewish Charities of Cincinnati, one of the first American Jewish philanthropic federations, and later served as its president. He was elected the first president of the National Conference of Jewish Charities in 1899. During World War I Senior and boris d. bogen , while serving as European representatives for the Joint Distribution Committee in Holland, established a network whereby relief funds and supplies from the U.S. could be funneled to the war-ravaged territories, particularly German-held Poland, through Dutch Jewish intermediaries. Senior was also active on behalf of the Cleveland Jewish Orphan Asylum, headed the Shoemaker Clinic for the Promotion of Negro Health and Welfare in Cincinnati, and served as a member of the Ohio State Tuberculosis Association.