A pioneer of film animation, cartoonist Max Fleischer (1883-1972) created cartoon characters Betty Boop and Popeye. He is also remembered for his more than 20 motion picture production inventions, particularly the rotoscope.

Max Fleischer was born into a family of inventors on July 17, 1883, in Vienna, Austria. His mother immigrated with him to the United States when he was four years old, and he was raised on the Lower East Side of New York City. Fleischer was one of five sons. Animator Dave Fleischer was his younger brother.

Fleischer didn't finish high school, but attended numerous trade schools and art programs in his youth. He worked for the Brooklyn Daily Eagle as a cartoonist, photographer, and photo-engraver before becoming art director for the magazine Popular Science. Fleischer's animation career began at Joseph Randolph Bray's studio, where he made instructional films during a short World War I commission.

Invented the Rotoscope...