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Top 10 Amazing Facts about William Booth

William Booth in 1862-

Born on 10th April 1829, William Booth was an English Methodist preacher who founded the Salvation Army alongside his wife and became the first ‘general.’

This Christian movement with a somewhat military structure and government founded in 1865, has spread to many parts of the world and is known for being one of the largest distributors of humanitarian aid.

1. Named among the 100 greatest Britons

In 2002, Booth was named among the 100 Greatest Britons in a BBC poll.

He was recognized as being a big contributor to humanitarian aid and goodwill. Always looking out for the needy and the poor.

2. William Booth founded the Salvation Army

William Booth, founder of Salvation Army- Wikimedia

The Salvation Army is a protestant church and an international charity organization.

It currently reports a worldwide membership of over 1.7 million; comprising of soldiers, officers and adherents collectively known as salvationists.

The denomination was founded by William Booth on 2nd July 1865 in London, UK along with his wife.

William had a profound pity for the outcast and hated suffering. His mission was to reach out to the suffering and the outcasts and give them a chance at repentance and redemption.

Up to today, Salvation Army works towards giving the destitute a chance too.

3. William left pawnbroking and became a full preacher on his birthday

Having been born and raised in a poor family, Booth left school in 1842 when he was only 13 years old and was apprenticed to a pawnbroker.

He hated the work but felt that he had a responsibility to be sending money home especially given the fact that his father, Samuel Booth died the same year on 23rd September.

On 10th April 1852 and on his 23rd birthday, he left pawnbroking and became a full preacher at their headquarters at Binfield Chapel in Clapham. This is where his journey began.

4. Styled his preaching after revivalist American

William Booth styled his way of preaching after the revivalist American, James Caughey who had made frequent visits to England and preached at the church of Nottingham, where Booth was a member.

He adopted Caughey’s style of evangelism and focused on preaching in open-air, especially in slum areas.

Booth held on to the belief that eternal punishment was the fate of the unconverted. He thus focused on preaching with the aim of redeeming people from eternal punishment.

5. Built programmes to uplift society

Home Service Fund Campaign, 1919-

Booth was not a political or a social radical as mistaken to be when he first started his ministry.

He accepted the fact that social uplifting might have to precede conversion. Thus instead of focusing only on preaching with the aim of converting people, he started first by trying to uplift society.

He did this by slowly building a social programme of food kitchens, housing and communal organizations.

6. Booth Preached his first sermon at only age of 17

William became a Christian in 1844 and preached his first sermons in Nottingham in 1846 at the age of 17.

At this time he was still working as a pawnbroker when he got converted. He then started reading extensively and trained himself in writing and speech. He ended up becoming a methodist local preacher.

He was encouraged by his best friend, Will Sansom, to become an evangelist. Thus, the two began to preach to the poor and the sinners of Nottingham.

Booth was only 17 years old at the time. He could have probably remained to be Sansom’s partner in his ‘new mission ministry,’ as Sansom called it.

Unfortunately, Sansom died in 1849 of tuberculosis. Left alone, Booth tried to continue to do lay preaching in London but the small amount of preaching work that came his way frustrated him.

He thus resigned as a lay preacher and instead took to open-air evangelism in the streets of Kennington, Common.

7. William Booth preached in Unusual Venues

A statue of William Booth preaching- Author; Reading Tom-

William preached in unusual venues, ranging from stables to disused pubs while his wife, Catherine Mumford, raised funds among the city’s well to do.

Booth and his wife adopted social work as a means to an end. This is because William argued that no one could be able to concentrate on the message of the Lord on an empty stomach.

Thus, soup kitchens and food for the millions of shops were created in order to help the poor with sustenance.

He preached even in the most unsafe places of East London focusing on the poorest and most neglected. This is because he believed the poor and the rejects needed to be given an opportunity for redemption.

8. His movement helped exposed the sale of young girls to prostitution

In Britain in 1885, the Salvation Army was involved in exposing the sale of young girls into prostitution.

Consequently, a longtime supporter of the salvation army, W.T. Stead, was imprisoned for his part in the abduction of 13-year-old Eliza Armstrong.

The army’s efforts helped influence the raising of the legal age of consent from 13 years to 16 years old.

9. Booth was enthusiastic about the technological advancement that could help in his mission work

A 1907 automobile model- Author; Joe Ross-

William Booth was enthusiastic about any technological advancement that could be used to spread the gospel.

He recognized the benefits of the automobile and had one painted white at a time when all automobiles were black.

That way, he could be able to preach at any time because the automobile was open and anyone who spotted the white automobile would know it is him.

10. Modern-day Thrift stores originated from Booth

A modern thrift store- Photo by Sean Benesh on

William Booth responded to social concerns in the 19th century by creating an organization that was designed to meet the needs of all humans without discrimination.

So as to respond to the need for jobs and affordable merchandise, coupled with the fear of disease and a desire to preserve the land, Booth created the 鈥淗ousehold Salvage Brigade.鈥�

The modern-day thrift store originated from this concept which was composed of a group of men and women who would typically gather discarded things from people’s houses and sell them at a reduced price so as to aid the poor.

Impoverished people became the organization’s workforce, collecting unwanted goods and revamping them.

The pieces could then be salvaged and be sold at junk shops then the money gotten is put back into the programme.

Booth in 1912- Author; Bain News Service, publisher-

More than 100 years ago, Booth recognized and responded to social and environmental challenges that we still continue to face today.

His deeds illuminate not only Booth’s insight and social conscience but also his compassion. Booth’s legacy continues to live on through the work of The Salvation Army.