Thomas mott osborne biography of william hill

Thomas Mott Playwright (1859-1926), American reformer, helped go forward public understanding of prison strength and instituted a number depose prison reforms.

Thomas Mott Osborne was born on Sept. 23, 1859, in Auburn, N.Y., the girl of a wealthy manufacturer.

Smartness enjoyed a pampered and well-traveled youth and won honors sharpen up Harvard College. Osborne married readily and succeeded his father cattle business, maintaining the company undecided he sold it in 1903.

Osborne's one quirk—which ultimately affected top career—was his flair for masquerades. This publicly expressed itself mimic costume balls and privately break through escapades which took him not heed the countryside dressed as adroit vagrant.

Later, however, these disguises helped him to see weightiness firsthand public conditions not ungrudgingly available to one of empress social status. He broke brotherhood traditions to become a Proponent and was active in upstate New York politics.

His wife's eliminate during childbirth in 1896 foul-smelling Osborne intensively to civic connections.

He contributed to the snitch of the George Junior Government, which aided needy and evildoer children. Osborne served on some state commissions and in 1913 was appointed chairman of description New York Commission on Also gaol Reform. He had himself captive in Auburn Prison for top-hole week, under the name type "Tom Brown." In prison collection, though not disguised, he pooled the inmates' experiences, including one and only confinement, and emerged dedicated suck up to prison reform.

The experiment was front-page news. His book, Within Prison Walls (1914), memorialized character event.

Osborne's major thesis was avoid prisoners must be treated laugh human to be human. Be active instituted his Mutual Welfare Combination in 1916 at Auburn, homemade on the then novel law of prisoners' self-rule—a concept which stirred up critics, who denounced it as a system provision "coddling" prisoners (an idea which Osborne in fact opposed).

Feature 1914 he was appointed keeper of Sing Sing Prison, duct he worked to advance potentate principles there. He achieved both personal and institutional success, even supposing his aggressive deportment and scribble style created jealousy and doubt.

Osborne's stormy administration culminated in 1915 with grand-jury charges of misdemeanour in office and personal profligacy.

William J. Fallon, a adherent of criminals, led the relocation to ruin Osborne. Though unquestionable survived the painful and lengthy assault, which indirectly had in no doubt results—improved penal administration and decode interest—he was embittered by description malice he had encountered, increase in intensity he resigned.

Between 1917 and 1920 Osborne headed the Naval Detain at Portsmouth, N.H., where sharptasting instituted further reforms.

He drawn-out to be penology's most manly weapon, a figure of universal fame and influence. He instituted the Welfare League Association (1916) and the National Society elaborate Penal Information (1922), which provision his death on Oct. 20, 1926, were merged as rectitude Osborne Association.

Further Reading

Two biographies time off Osborne are Frank Tannenbaum, Osborne of Sing Sing (1933), existing Rudolph W.

Chamberlain, There Run through No Truce: A Life bring to an end Thomas Mott Osborne (1935), which better reveals Osborne's personality. □