Jacob August Riis (; May 3, 1849 – May 26, 1914) was a Danish-American social reformer, “muckraking” journalist and social documentary photographer. He contributed significantly to the cause of urban reform in America at the slant of the twentieth century. He is known for using his photographic and journalistic talents to back up the impoverished in New York City; those impoverished New Yorkers were the subject of most of his prolific writings and photography. He credited the implementation of “model tenements” in New York past the back up of humanitarian Lawrence Veiller. Additionally, as one of the most famous proponents of the newly realistic casual photography, he is considered one of the fathers of photography due to his certainly early adoption of flash in photography.
While buzzing in New York, Riis experienced poverty and became a police reporter writing not quite the air of vigor in the slums. He attempted to dispel the bad breathing conditions of destitute people by exposing their vibrant conditions to the center and upper classes.
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