Rowntree, Joseph & Benjamin Seebohm

Benjamin Seebohm Rowntree (1871–1954) and his father Joseph Rowntree (1836–1925) were influential English Quakers and social reformers who helped shape early 20th-century social science and philanthropy. Joseph transformed his family's York-based chocolate firm into Rowntree & Co., and used its success to support temperance causes and efforts to alleviate urban poverty. His son Seebohm extended this mission through a more academic and data-driven approach. His landmark 1901 study Poverty: A Study of Town Life surveyed working-class conditions in York, using detailed data and mapping to identify types and causes of poverty. It challenged the idea that poverty was due to personal failings and influenced both Liberal and Labour social policy. The Rowntrees were pioneers in using mapping for social reform. Inspired by Charles Booth, they produced poverty maps that visualised disparities in income and housing, as well as temperance or “drink maps” showing the density of public houses (or saloons in the United States) and their links to poverty and crime. These were used to advocate for licensing reform and recreational alternatives, and contributed to early U.S. prohibition campaigns.