Riis, Jacob August (1849–1914)

Danish-born US journalist, photographer, and reformer. As police reporter for the New York Evening Sun 1888–99, he was exposed to the grim realities of urban life, and his photographic exposé of conditions in the New York slums, How the Other Half Lives 1890, made the American public aware of the poverty in its own midst.

Riis immigrated to the USA 1870. After working at a succession of jobs, he was hired as a reporter for the New York Tribune 1877. As a social crusader, Riis later established a settlement house, named for him, in New York City. His autobiography, The Making of an American, appeared 1901.