English sociologist and philanthropist known for his studies of poverty and for his advocacy of improved welfare for workers.

After attending a Quaker school, Rowntree joined the chocolate-making business established by his father, Joseph Rowntree, becoming chairman in 1923.

Rowntree carried out three major surveys of poverty in York: Poverty, A Study of Town Life (1901), Progress and Poverty (1941) and Poverty and the Welfare State (1951). These provided a wealth of statistical data on wages, working hours, nutrition, health and housing. They informed popular opinion of the necessity for industrial welfare and helped to influence government policy.

Rowntree instigated a series of reforms at his own company. He built up labour management practices based on a combination of Quaker beliefs, common sense and the conviction that healthy and well-paid employees would work more efficiently.

Rowntree expounded his management philosophy in several books, notably The Human Needs of Labour (1918), in which he argued for a government enforced minimum wage, and The Human Factor in Business (1921), in which he encouraged employers to adopt more progressive management practices.

Rowntree worked as chairman of his family business until shortly before his death in 1954.