Riis, Jacob A

Riis, Jacob A

▪ American journalist

born May 3, 1849, Ribe, Den.
died May 26, 1914, Barre, Mass., U.S.
 U.S. newspaper reporter, social reformer, and photographer who shocked the U.S. conscience in 1890 by factual description of slum conditions in his book How the Other Half Lives.

      Emigrating to the United States at the age of 21, Riis held various jobs, gaining a firsthand acquaintance with the ragged underside of city life. In 1873 he became a police reporter, assigned to New York City's Lower East Side, where he found that in some tenements the infant death rate was one in 10. Riis employed the newly invented flashbulb technique in photographing the rooms and hallways of these buildings in order to dramatize his lectures and books.

      How the Other Half Lives made Riis famous. The response of the future U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt was: “I have read your book, and I have come to help.” The book stimulated the first significant New York legislation to curb tenement house evils. The illustrations were largely line drawings based on Riis's photographs. A reprint in 1971 included 30 photographs on which the original illustrations were based and 70 related Riis photographs.

      Of Riis's many other books, the most noteworthy was his autobiography, The Making of an American (1901).

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Riis,Jacob August — Riis (rēs), Jacob August. 1849 1914. Danish born American journalist and reformer whose reports on living conditions in city slums led to improvements in housing and education. * * * …   Universalium

  • Riis, Jacob A(ugust) — (3 may. 1849, Ribe, Dinamarca–26, may. 1914, Barre, Mass., EE.UU.). Periodista y reformador social estadounidense. Inmigró a EE.UU. a los 21 años de edad y fue reportero policial del New York Tribune (1877–88) y del New York Evening Sun (1888–99) …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Riis, Jacob A(ugust) — born May 3, 1849, Ribe, Den. died May 26, 1914, Barre, Mass., U.S. U.S. journalist and social reformer. He immigrated to the U.S. at 21 and became a police reporter for the New York Tribune (1877–88) and the New York Evening Sun (1888–99). He… …   Universalium

  • Jacob Riis — en 1906. Jacob August Riis (3 de mayo de 1849 26 de mayo de 1914), fue un fotoperiodista y reformador social danés estadounidense que nació en Ribe (Dinamarca). Es célebre porque utilizó su talento como fotógrafo y …   Wikipedia Español

  • Jacob riis — Jacob Riis (Ribe (Danemark) le 3 mai 1849 New York, (Etats Unis) le 26 mai 1914) est un photographe, réformateur et journaliste. Il a influencé les …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jacob — o Ya akov, en hebreo יַעֲקֹב sostenido por el talón o en árabe يعقوب Yaʿqūb, conocido despues como Israel hebreo יִשְׂרָאֵל Principe de Dios , árabe اسرائيل Isrāʾīl) es uno de los patriarcas de la Biblia. Su historia es contada en el libro de… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Jacob — /jay keuhb/ for 1, 3; Fr. /zhann kawb / for 2, n. 1. the second son of Isaac, the twin brother of Esau, and father of the 12 patriarchs. Gen. 25:24 34. 2. François /frddahonn swann /, born 1920, French geneticist: Nobel prize for medicine 1965. 3 …   Universalium

  • Jacob August Riis — (* 3. Mai 1849 in Ribe, Dänemark; † 26. Mai 1914 in Barre, Massachusetts) war ein dänisch amerikanischer Journalist und Fotograf und gilt als ein Pionier der sozialdokumentarischen Fotografie. Jacob August Riis …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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  • Jacob Riis Park — in the New York City borough of Queens, is part of the Jamaica Bay Unit of the Gateway National Recreation Area, and managed by the National Park Service (NPS). It lies at the foot of the Marine Parkway Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge middle of the… …   Wikipedia

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