10 April 1829 – 20 August 1912

William Booth (April 1829 – August 1912) [HISTORICAL chapter 6 pp. 273] was a Methodist preacher. He was born to a wealthy family, but the family descended into poverty by the time William reached his early teenage years. Instead of continuing in school, he went to apprentice with a pawnbroker. A few years into his apprenticeship, he converted to Christianity and became very interested in religion and scripture. William Booth shares his ideas on wealth and religion when he said "My father was a Grab, a Get. He had been born into poverty. He determined to grow rich; and he did. He grew very rich, because he lived without God and simply worked for money; and when he lost it all, his heart broke with it, and he died miserably" (salvationarmy.org). 

After his apprenticeship ended, he moved to London and began to work for a pawnbroker. 

He wanted to find work as a preacher, but jobs were minimal. He was upset by this and took to openly evangelizing in the streets of London. 

In 1851, Booth officially joined the Methodist Reformed Church. this was a branching off of the Wesleyan Methodist Church. In April of 1852, Booth officially became a preacher for the Binfield Chapel in Clapham. In 1857, he and his family moved to the West Riding of Yorkshire where he became the preacher of Bethel Chapel. 

However, he wanted to freely campaign and work in evangelism. He eventulally left his preaching position to frelly evangilize.

He was also interested in ethics and social issues. He started manufacturing matches, paying his employees very well. 

He founded his evangelic society called the Christian Mission, which would later become the Salvation Army. He spread this “Army” throughout many countries, recruiting members that wanted to follow Christ and share the gospel. He not only spread the gospel but use the Salvation Army to give humanitarian aid. He had 8 children, all of whom were involved in the Salvation Army. 

Word Count: 326

“William Booth.” The Salvation Army, https://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/about-us/international-heritage-centre/....

Woolf, Virginia. Orlando: A Biography. Harcourt Brace & Company, 1928.