Seebohm Rowntree

Benjamin Seebohm Rowntree, CH (7 July 1871 – 7 October 1954) was an English sociological researcher, social reformer and industrialist. He is known in particular for his three studies of poverty in York, conducted in 1899, 1935, and 1951. The first York study involved a comprehensive survey of the living conditions of the poor in York during which investigators visited every working class household, and his methodology inspired many subsequent researches in British empirical sociology. By strictly defining the concept of poverty in his studies, he was able to reveal that the causes of poverty in York were more structural than moral, such as low wages, which went against the traditionally held view that the poor were responsible for their own plight.