Thomas Mott Osborne (1859-1926), American reformer, helped advance public understanding of prison problems and instituted a number of prison reforms.

Thomas Mott Osborne was born on Sept. 23, 1859, in Auburn, N.Y., the son of a wealthy manufacturer. He enjoyed a pampered and well-traveled youth and won honors at Harvard College. Osborne married happily and succeeded his father in business, maintaining the company until he sold it in 1903.

Osborne's one quirk--which ultimately affected his career--was his flair for masquerades. This publicly expressed itself at costume balls and privately in escapades which took him over the countryside dressed as a vagrant. Later, however, these disguises helped him to see at firsthand public conditions not readily available to one of his social status. He broke family traditions to become a Democrat and was active in upstate New York politics.

His wife's death during childbirth in 1896 turned Osborne intensively to civic affairs...