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Jacob Riis

author

Jacob Riis, Danish author.

Background

Riis, Jacob August was born on May 3, 1849 in Ribe, Denmark. Son of Niels Edward and Caroline B. (Lundholm) Riis.

Education

Educated at Latin school in Ribe.

Career

Came to New York and became police reporter New York Sun. Active in the small parks and playgrounds movement, and in tenement house and school reform. Secretary New York Small Parks Commission, 1897.

Author: How the Other Half Lives, 1890. The Children of the Poor, 1892. The Making of an American, 1901.

The Battle with the Slum, 1902. Children of the Tenements, 1902. Is There a Santa Claus?, 1904.

Theodore Roosevelt, the Citizen, 1904. The Old Town, 1909; Hero Tales of the Far North, 1910. Home: Barre, Mass.

Works

All works

Connections

Married Elizabeth D. Nielsen, Mar 5, 1876 (died 1905). Married second, Mary Phillips, July 29, 1907.

Father:
Niels Edward Riis

Mother:
Caroline B. (Lundholm) Riis

Spouse:
Elizabeth D. Nielsen

Spouse:
Mary Phillips