Franz Servaes was born on June 17, 1862, in Cologne. He attended the Gymnasium in Cologne. Beginning in 1881, he studied art and German at the universities in Leipzig, Strasbourg, and Bonn.
He received his doctorate in 1887. He then lived in Berlin, publishing his first essays and art reviews there. The first performance of his drama "Zu Haus," which had remained unpublished up until then, took place on April 7, 1895. It received negative reviews from the press.
Another drama, entitled "Stickluft", appeared a short time later. In 1899, Franz Servaes published in various weekly and monthly magazines. Servaes also worked temporarily as the theater critic for the "Vossische Zeitung." In the same year, he worked as a cultural correspondent and feuilletonist for the "Neue freie Presse" in Vienna. In 1904, he took over as editor of the "Neue freie Presse," succeeding Theodor Herzl.
Franz Servaes died on July 14, 1947, in Vienna.