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
Quaker Hill, New York center he built called the Barn. In its fireplace he "installed stones from the Great Pyramid of Cheops, the Parthenon, St. Peter's Cathedral, China's Great Wall, and Mount Vernon." He transformed a stone library on the hill, called Akin Hall, into a "nondenominational place of worship in Christopher Wren style." An avid horseman, he also established more than 200 miles of bridle paths that stretched across Quaker Hill. The community has been studied extensively. It was the subject of a Columbia University political science Ph.D. dissertation completed in 1907. Quaker Hill, New York Quaker Hill is a hamlet in the