Jacob A. Riis

Born in Ribe, Denmark, the third child of a family of fourteen, Jacob Riis showed promise as a crusader even in childhood. Nicknamed “the Delver” for his habit of mucking around in the sewer and waging war on rats, he once gave his Christmas money to a poor and disreputable family in his village. Riis, with only forty dollars in his pocket, left Denmark to make his mark in America. Jobless and hungry, he soon became the forefront of the urban reform movement.