Social Reformer. He is remembered for his work in Victorian England with homeless children. Born into a family who left Spain during the Spanish Inquisition for Germany, his family eventually settled in Ireland where he was born. As a teenager, he had converted to Protestantism, becoming a street preacher. He became a clerk at the age of fourteen in a wine merchant's office, but he resigned the post when he became convinced of the dangers of alcohol consumption. In 1866, he began a course at the London Hospital, with the intention of training to become a missionary in China. Although he never finished his medical studies, he adopted "Dr." as a professional title. He did later become a licentiate in 1876 and then fellow in 1879 of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, thus making the title of "Dr." an accepted matter of courtesy. During the cholera epidemic of 1867, he was so horrified by the numbers of homeless children he encountered in London's East End that he decided to devote himself to their care. On July 15, 1867, he founded the East End Juvenile Mission for the care of friendless and destitute children; and, in December of 1870, opened a Boys' Home at 18 Stepney Causeway. In July of 1876, his first Girls' Village Home was opened at Barkingside in Essex. By the time of his death, at Surbiton in Surrey from heart failure, he had founded over ninety homes, rescued and trained 59,384 destitute children, and assisted a quarter of a million children in want. After training, he placed the children in apprenticeships to secure their independence. The motto of the Dr. Barnardo's Homes was: "No destitute child ever refused admission." The homes were chartered in 1899 as the National Incorporated Association for the Reclamation of Destitute Waif Children. His endeavors were mainly funded largely on appeals for charity from wealthy patrons with various marketing methods. His critics claimed his marketing methods were underhanded, his work competed with the Catholic church and the Salvation Army, reduced parental rights and undermined the workings of the Poor Law. He was taken to court 88 times mostly on kidnapping charges and was accused of falsifying charges of child abuse. When taken to court in 1877, a Court of Arbitration had settled in his favor in this controversy. It can be said that his work was not philanthropic as he did not donate his money to a charity but solicited funds from others to support the charity under his management. He was cremated and his ashes buried in the grounds of the Barkingside Home, beneath a memorial by Sir George Frampton, which was unveiled in 1908. His original orphanages were named "Dr Barnardo's Homes," but with the change from traditional orphanages to fostering and adopting children, the facilities are named Barnardo's in 1989. In the 21st century, his legacy continues with the support of the Royal family. He married twice and had seven children with his first wife. Three sons died young and one had Down's Syndrome. Since there was no funding for markers at the time, his three son's graves are among the unmarked graves of 513 orphans at Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park. Later, a marker was placed in the cemetery in memory of the orphans and his sons. After his wife's death in childbirth, he married his sister-in-law.