Joseph Rowntree (philanthropist) Joseph Rowntree (philanthropist) Joseph Rowntree (24 May 1836 – 24 February 1925) was an English Quaker philanthropist and businessman from York. Rowntree is perhaps best known for being a champion of social reform, partner and friend of Charles Booth, and his time as a chocolatier at family business "Rowntree's", one of the most important in Britain. Even as a powerful businessman, he was deeply interested in improving the quality of life of his employees; this led to him becoming a philanthropist, pursuing many charitable causes. In 1904 he created three trusts, the Joseph Rowntree Village Trust (JRVT) which was originally
Unionist Social Reform Committee Unionist Social Reform Committee The Unionist Social Reform Committee was a group within the British Conservative Party dedicated to help formulating a Conservative policy of social reform between 1911 and 1914. According to E. H. H. Green, the Committee "saw the earliest, detailed discussion of Conservative principles concerning the role of the State in the provision of social welfare". Arthur Steel-Maitland was elected to parliament as a Conservative in January 1910 and in October he sought to bring together Conservative social reformers into a committee. However, this was postponed by the general election of December. The Committee held its first