Jacob August Riis (1849-1914) was a journalist, author, social reformer, and photographer. He was born in Denmark and emigrated to the United States in 1870. While working as a reporter for the New York Tribune, he began his crusade to improve...
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Jacob August Riis (1849-1914) was a journalist, author, social reformer, and photographer. He was born in Denmark and emigrated to the United States in 1870. While working as a reporter for the New York Tribune, he began his crusade to improve urban life. His efforts to ameliorate conditions in the slums included campaigns for effective child labor laws and building codes. Riis worked at the Tribune until 1888 when he became a police reporter at the Evening Sun. After his retirement in 1899, he continued to write books and articles and lectured extensively until his death in 1914.The Jacob Riis papers consist of correspondence, diaries, lecture notes, manuscripts, photographs, and printed matter. Correspondence includes family letters of Riis, his second wife and her family; and business letters regarding Riis's work, publications, lecture tours, and farm matters. Diaries cover Riis's early years in the U.S. as well as his later business and personal affairs. Lecture notes pertain to speeches on housing, organized charity, and related topics. Holograph manuscripts represent major works. Photographs are of Riis, his family, and scenes of Denmark. Also included are news clippings, published manuscripts, letters and notebooks.
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