Lewis Wickes Hine (September 26, 1874 - November 3, 1940) was an American sociologist and photographer. In 1908, he became the photographer for the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC). As a photographer he was frequently threatened with violence or even death by factory police and foremen. At the time the immorality of child labor was meant to be hidden from the public. In order to gain entry into these mills, mines and factories, Hines was forced to assume many guises. During and after WWI, he photographed American Red Cross relief work in Europe. In the 1920s and early 1930s, he made a series of "work portraits," which emphasized the human contribution to modern industry. The last years of his life were filled with professional struggles due to loss of government and corporate patronage. Few people were interested in his work, past or present, and he lost his house and applied for welfare. Hine died in 1940, at age 66, after an operation. The Library of Congress holds more than 5000 Hine photographs, including examples of his child labor and Red Cross photographs, his work portraits, and his WPA and TVA images. No photographer credited, undated.