Pieter Lodewijk Tak was the founder of The Dageraad Housing Association. He was a liberal journalist working for several radical and progressive publications, magazines and newspapers. He loved Amsterdam nightlife, had a rich social life and lots of intellectual friends. He was also know to be a beer connoisseur and bon vivant. However, in his later life he became a member of the Social Democratic Workers Party (SDAP) and started to get involved with local politics. He lay the foundations for many reforms and social policies in Amsterdam. This had an impact on other major cities in The Netherlands and ultimately were the school for the government responsibility that Dutch socialists carried on in the future.