Samuel Tuke

Who was Samuel Tuke?

Samuel Tuke was a Quaker philanthropist and mental-health reformer. He was born in York, England.

He greatly advanced the cause of the amelioration of the condition of the insane, and devoted himself largely to the York Retreat. The methods of treatment pursued there were made more widely known by his Description of the Retreat near York. In this work Samuel Tuke referred to the Retreat's methods as moral treatment, borrowed from the French "traitement moral" being used to describe the work of Jean-Baptiste Pussin and Philippe Pinel in France. Samuel Tuke also published Practical Hints on the Construction and Economy of Pauper Lunatic Asylums.

Samuel was part of a Quaker family. He was the son of Henry Tuke and the grandson of William Tuke, who founded the York Retreat. Samuel Tuke's two sons James Hack Tuke and Daniel Hack Tuke were also active in humanitarian concerns.

The Retreat still provides mental healthcare for the population of York and the wider community. Samuel Tuke is buried in the Quaker cemetery within the hospital grounds.