A pioneering reformer.

Countless Americans owe their decent living standards to the pioneering social reformer and photographer, Jacob Riis, a naturalized American born in the Netherlands.

His revolutionary use of photography to highlight the plight of New York’s poorest residents came to the attention of Teddy Roosevelt and between them these two reformers arguably did more for the poor than any one before or since.

Click the image for more.

Click the image for The Retronaut blog which features a comprehensive collection of Riis’s many harrowing images which helped change America for the better.