Born in Boston in 1906, Charles H. Revson was raised in Manchester, New Hampshire, and came to New York City as a young man. In the depths of the Great Depression he founded Revlon, Inc., which he built from a single product line into a major international corporation in a decade.

In 1956, Mr. Revson established the Charles H. Revson Foundation, through which he donated millions of dollars during his lifetime. Most of these gifts were to organizations that served the Jewish community, medical institutions, and schools and universities in New York, his adopted city.

The Foundation was endowed after his death in 1975. His directive gave the Board a mandate to innovate, allowing it unusual freedom to chart the Foundation’s course.