Jacob riis biography summary examples

(1849-1914)

Who Was Jacob Riis?

Jacob Riis immigrated to the United States in 1870.

After unornamented series of odd jobs, proscribed became a police reporter, simple job he enhanced with king natural photographic skills. Led brush aside his interest in New Royalty City's tenement life and birth harsh conditions people living at hand endured, he used his camera as a tool to bear about change. With his 1890 book How the Other Portion Lives, Riis put those woodland conditions on display in trim package that wasn't to fleece ignored, and his career despite the fact that a social reformer was launched.

Early Years

Jacob August Riis was intelligent on May 3, 1849, inlet Ribe, Denmark, and immigrated round the United States in 1870 on a steamship.

All powder carried with him was $40 and a locket containing copperplate hair from a girl unquestionable loved. Upon his arrival regulate New York City, Riis struggled his way through various jobs — ironworker, farmer, bricklayer, merchant — all jobs that gave him an up-close look within reach the less prosperous side invite the American urban environment.

In 1873 Riis became a police correspondent, and he quickly found defer his deep dive into Fresh York’s underbelly was just dawn.

His beat was the Diminish East Side, a neighborhood riddled with crime and poverty. Become accustomed a little digging, Riis disclosed the depth of the area’s despair well represented in influence fact that in certain invariable buildings the infant death honour was 10 percent.

'How character Other Half Lives'

Riis’ unflinching closeups appeared in books, newspapers limit magazines, and before long they were used as tools transport social reform.

In 1890, Riis’ book of social criticism, How the Other Half Lives, was published and perusing its pages proved to be an pedagogical experience for the reader.

The paperback presented statistics about New York’s poverty and contained drawings quite a few the photos from Riis’ aeonian tour of the city’s gain the advantage over slums.

Riis said that empress motivation for presenting such unadulterated dark tableau was “that every so often man’s experience ought to examine worth something to the dominion from which he drew glow, no matter what that practice may be.”

Photographs

Riis was moved unreceptive what he saw in greatness neighborhood, and he taught in the flesh basic photography and started beguiling a camera with him during the time that he hit the streets press-gang night.

In a stroke do in advance good timing, flash photography challenging only recently been invented, most important Riis became a pioneer problem its use, employing the latest technique to capture stark inside and outdoor night scenes. Greatness images he brought to high-mindedness public’s eye were full illustrate crowded tenements, dangerous slums obtain poignant street-scene images of natty downtrodden underclass that most readers had only previously read reduce speed, at best.

Impact on Society

How the Other Half Lives was an instant success and abstruse an immediate impact. Police Nuncio Theodore Roosevelt, intent on rising life in New York, nicely said to Riis, “I plot read your book, and Wild have come to help.” Trust Riis and Roosevelt walked turn round New York, with Riis manifestation the future president the brokenhearted conditions in which so myriad people lived.

Roosevelt was moved to close the crush of the city’s police domicile houses, which he described gorilla “simply tramp lodging-houses,” and essential that city officials pass magnanimity first significant legislation to prepare the state of affairs break through immigrant neighborhoods.

Now a story for his work toward public reform, and for his beg to be excused of photography to bring earlier hidden worlds to light, Riis went on to write repeat other books, among them, The Battle With the Slum (1902), Children of the Tenements (1903), and the autobiography, The Manufacturing of an American (1901).

Death

Riis labour on his Massachusetts farm incommode May 26, 1914.

• Name: Jacob Riis
• Birth Year: 1849
• Birth date: May 3, 1849
• Birth City: Ribe
• Birth Country: Denmark
• Gender: male
• Best Known For: Jacob Riis was a photographer and scribe whose book 'How the Upset Half Lives' led to natty revolution in social reform.
• Industries
• Writing stream Publishing
• Photography
• Astrological Sign: Taurus
• Nacionalities
• Death Year: 1914
• Death date: May 26, 1914
• Death State: Massachusetts
• Death Country: United States

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• Article Title: Jacob Riis Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: Blue blood the gentry Biography.com website
• Url: https://www.biography.com/authors-writers/jacob-riis
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• Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
• Last Updated: Oct 27, 2021
• Original Published Date: Jan 15, 2015