born April 10, 1829, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Eng.
died Aug. 20, 1912, London
British religious leader, founder and general (1878–1912) of the Salvation Army .
At age 15 he underwent a religious conversion and became a revivalist preacher. In 1849 he went to London, where he became a regular preacher of the Methodist New Connection (1852–61) and then an independent revivalist. Aided by his wife, Catherine Mumford Booth (1829–90), a fellow preacher and social worker, he founded the Christian Mission in 1865, which in 1878 became the Salvation Army. He traveled worldwide to lecture and organize branches of the Army. His proposals for remedying social ills received widespread acceptance and the encouragement of Edward VII .