Unwin, Raymond (1863-1940)

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Jane Addams to Dwight H. Perkins, May 25, 1911

Oxford and Cambridge Week at the London Settlements, December 12-19, 1921

Raymond Unwin to Jane Addams, April 26, 1915

Raymond Unwin to Jane Addams, August 3, 1920

Raymond Unwin to Jane Addams, September 4, 1923

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Birth Date

1863-11-02

Death Date

1940-06-29

Birthplace

Rotherham, Yorkshire, England

Biographical Text

Raymond Unwin was an engineer, architect, and town planner who worked on improving living conditions for the working class. Unwin was interested in social issues from a young age, and in 1885 he became secretary of William Morris's local Socialist League and wrote newspaper articles for the League's paper. In 1887 he worked as an engineer at Staveley Iron & Coal Company, and he joined the Sheffield Socialist Society. In 1893 he married Ethel Parker, the sister of architect Barry Parker, and in 1896 Unwin and Parker formed a partnership with the goal of improving housing for the working class. They were both members of the Northern Art Worker's Guild, and they worked to promote the Arts and Crafts Movement, having written The Art of Building a Home in 1901. They built homes, suburbs, and garden suburbs. In 1914 Unwin was a member of the Local Government Board, and from 1931 to 1933 he was President of the Royal Institute of British Architects. He was knighted in 1932.

Unwin married Ethel Parker in 1839. Unwin died in 1940.