Booth, William (1829-1912), an English preacher and social reformer, founded the Salvation Army. The army is a charitable and religious organization dedicated to aiding the needy.
Booth was born on April 10, 1829, in Sneinton, a suburb of Nottingham, and grew up in poverty. At the age of 15, he was converted to Methodism. He became a traveling Methodist preacher in 1852. Booth left the Methodist Church in 1861 to begin a career as a traveling revivalist. In 1865, he held revival meetings in the slums of London. There, he formed an independent religious organization called the Christian Mission and established facilities to aid the poor. In 1878, he renamed it the Salvation Army.
The Salvation Army took on a semimilitary structure with military ranks and uniforms. Booth was the first general (director) of the army. He organized revival meetings on street corners with stirring music by Salvation Army bands. Many people ridiculed Booth’s showmanship and his sympathy for social outcasts and the poor. But the Salvation Army rapidly grew into a religious institution of international importance. Booth’s wife and eight children all worked in the army. Two of their children, William Bramwell Booth and Evangeline Cory Booth, served as generals. Booth died on Aug. 20, 1912.
