Voting Station

Eugene Schueller

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Entrepreneur

The Resume

    (March 20, 1881-August 23, 1957)
    Born in Paris, France
    Chemist and pharmacist
    Developed Oreale hair coloring formula (1907)
    Founded L’Oreal (1909)

Why he might be annoying:

    He was the principal financial backer of La Cagoule, a pro-fascist group that carried out a series of assassinations and bombings in attempting to overthrow France’s Third Republic.
    He encouraged Frenchmen to volunteer for a Waffen SS unit fighting on the Russian Front.
    He was on the Nazis’ list of potential cabinet ministers if it became necessary to replace Pierre Laval’s Vichy government with an even more rabidly pro-German one.
    He avoided being convicted as a collaborator after World War II largely because he used a series of holding companies to disguise just how much business he did with the Germans.
    After World War II, he helped members of La Cagoule and other fascists escape France by giving them overseas jobs with L’Oreal.
    When reports of his pro-fascist views and collaborationist dealings surfaced in the 1980s, they inspired punning headlines about L’Oreal’s ‘dark roots’ starting to show.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He graduated first in his class from the Institute of Applied Chemistry.
    As an artillery officer during World War I, he earned the Croix de Guerre and the Legion of Honor.
    He built L’Oreal into the world’s largest cosmetic firm.
    He successfully branched out into the production of plastics, paint, and, teaming with the Lumiere Brothers, motion picture film.
    He helped shelter Jewish employees of L’Oreal from being sent to concentration camps.
    He also provided money to Resistance groups.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 6 Votes: 83.33% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying