Joseph Rowntree (philanthropist)
Joseph Rowntree | |
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Born | York, England | 24 May 1836
Died | 24 February 1925 York, England[1] | (aged 88)
Burial place | The Retreat, York, England |
Occupation | Chocolatier |
Spouses |
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Children | 6, including Benjamin Seebohm Rowntree |
Parent | (father) |
Relatives |
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Website | Rowntree Society |
Joseph Rowntree (24 May 1836 – 24 February 1925) was an English
In 1904 he created three trusts, the Joseph Rowntree Village Trust (JRVT) which was originally set up to build and manage the garden village of New Earswick, the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (JRCT) and the Joseph Rowntree Social Services Trust (JRSST). He suggested that only the JRVT would be permanent, but all the trusts are still in existence. The Social Services Trust has changed its name to the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, and with the separation of the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust from the Village Trust in 1968, there are now four trusts.[citation needed]
Early life
Rowntree was born the son of Sarah and
Career
The following year he started working in his
In 1869 he joined his brother,
By the end of the nineteenth century, the company, Rowntree's, grew from 30 to over 4,000 employees, making it Britain's eightieth largest manufacturing employer.[5] It merged with John Mackintosh and Co. in 1969 and was taken over by Nestlé in 1988.
He had two marriages, to Julia Eliza Seebohm in 1862 who died in 1863, and then to her cousin Emma Antoinette Seebohm in 1867, with whom he had six children.[5] The social investigator Seebohm Rowntree was one of their children.
Joseph Rowntree's grave, along with these of many other members of his family, can be seen in the
Philosophical and political views: Joseph Rowntree was a supporter of liberal values, and was anxious to improve the quality of life of his employees. He provided them with a library, free education, a works magazine, a social welfare officer, a doctor, a dentist and a pension fund.
The Joseph Rowntree School
The Joseph Rowntree School was built in York in 1942 by the Joseph Rowntree Village Trust. In 2010 the school relocated to new premises costing £29 million. Students refer to it as "Joro".[6]
The Joseph Rowntree statue campaign
A campaign was started in summer 2012 to put a statue of Joseph Rowntree at a prominent site in the centre of York, with a Facebook page – "A Joseph Rowntree statue for York City Centre" – that stated: "York should be proud of its greatest son! This campaign aims to place a statue of Joseph Rowntree, philanthropist, social reformer, and chocolatier, in Parliament Square, York, on the site of the repulsed and now-demolished toilet block."[7][needs update]
References
- ^ "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
- ISBN 978-0-415-38160-4.
- ^ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b Joseph Rowntree Biography Archived 29 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine – The Joseph Rowntree Foundation 2004
- ^ a b Joseph Rowntree Biography – Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- ^ "Ex Joseph Rowntree School pupils invited to step back into the classroom". York Press. 21 January 2010. Retrieved 27 May 2016.
- ^ Kate Liptrot, "Campaign for statue of Joseph Rowntree on former “splash palace” site in York", The Press, 21 August 2012.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Joseph Rowntree on The Rowntree Society
- Joseph Rowntree on Spartacus Educational
- The Joseph Rowntree Foundation
- Joseph Rowntree School