George L. Fox (1825-1877)

America's first whiteface clown.

 Famous for his character, Humpty Dumpty, which he created in 1867.

He was known for his pantomime slapstick and topical satire.

During his 1,128th performance as Humpty Dumpty , Fox had to be removed from the stage at Richmond, Indiana's Phillips Opera House. He was put in an insane asylum and ultimately died of poisoning from his lead based white make-up.

It wasn't until 1920 that Max Factor came out with a lead-free 'Safety Clown White'.