William Booth

William Booth ( born April 10, 1829 in Nottingham, † August 20 1912 in London) was the founder and first general of the Salvation Army.

Life

Booth was born in poor conditions as the son of a building contractor. He attended the meetings of the Methodists, and joined with 15 years aware of this Christian stream. In 1852 he gave up his job as a businessman and attended the seminary. In 1854 he was ordained as pastor of the Methodist New Connexion. In 1855 he married Catherine Mumford, who henceforth support him as a wife in his work. In 1861 he started his own business as an evangelist.

He moved to London. On 2 July 1865 the actual anniversary of the founding of the Salvation Army later, he stopped in Whitechapel in Tower Hamlets, the first meeting of his tent missionary movement whose idea soon spread throughout England. 1870 Booths movement took the name "Christian mission" to. At this time he also began to streamline the organization and build upon a military model. He gave himself the rank of "General". In 1878 he published the eleven -chapter founding document of the Salvation Army. Booth stood up for the lowest social classes. He drank no alcohol deliberately to assist Alcoholics better what the Salvation Army took over later. In 1890 he published the socio-political polemic In Darkest England And The Way Out ( In darkest England and the way out ). In the first month 100,000 copies are sold. In the same year (1890) his wife died. William Booth was named an honorary citizen of London, and an honorary doctorate from Oxford University.

His eldest son, Bramwell was succeeded as General of The Salvation Army, and later his daughter Evangeline, was elected as the first General's, in this office. The other five children took senior positions in the organization. Booth was buried in the cemetery Stoke Newington.

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