He graduated in law at the Universite Libre de Bruxelles, and entered the legal profession, besides doing journalistic work. When he was 25 years old, he was appointed provincial counsel for Brabant, and became a communal counsel in 1903. After he had worked as a magistrate, he was elected burgomaster of Brussels on 6 December1909.
During the German occupation of Brussels in the First World War, Max refused to cooperate with the occupying forces. As a result he was arrested and held in captivity, first at Namur, and then at Glatz, until he escaped on 13 November1918. Charles Lemonnier was acting mayor during his captivity. On his return to Brussels he was greeted as a hero.
In 1919 he was elected to the Belgian Chamber of Representatives, where he campaigned for universal adult suffrage, a goal not achieved until after his death.
Grojean, O., Adolphe Max, in : Le Flambeau, I, 1918, nr. 6, p. 178.
Seyl, A., Un grand citoyen : Adolphe Max, in : Revue de Bruxelles, April 1958, p. III.
Vierset, A., Adolphe Max, in : Cahiers Historiques, Série IV, 1964, nr. 33, p. 83.
Cooremans, Lucien, Adolphe Max, bourgmestre des heures tragiques et des heures glorieuses, in : De 1830 à 1958. Douze bourgmestres libéraux ont fait de Bruxelles une des plus prestigieuses capitales, s.l., s.n., s.d., s.p.
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