William Booth (10 April 1829 – 20 August 1912) was an English Methodist preacher who, along with his wife, Catherine, founded the Salvation Army and became its first General (1878–1912).

In the summer of 1857 the Booth family moved to Brighouse in the West Riding of Yorkshire, where he was appointed preacher at the Bethel Chapel.

At the Liverpool conference in 1861, after having spent three years at Gateshead, his request to be freed for evangelism full-time was refused yet again, and Booth resigned from the ministry of the Methodist New Connexion.

His doctrine remained much the same, though; he preached that eternal punishment was the fate of those who do not believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the necessity of repentance from sin, and the promise of holiness.

The tent was set up on an old Quaker burial ground on Mile End Waste in Whitechapel, with an initial goal to deliver the Good News to all.

[citation needed] Outposts were established throughout the city, attracting converts, but the Christian Mission remained just one of the five hundred charitable groups working in London's East End.

[citation needed] Having been founded as the East London Christian Mission in 1865, the name The Salvation Army developed from an incident in May 1878.

Though the early years were lean ones, with the need of money to help the needy an ever growing issue, Booth and The Salvation Army persevered.

During his lifetime, William Booth established Army work in 58 countries and colonies, travelling extensively and holding, "salvation meetings."

His book In Darkest England and the Way Out not only became a best-seller after its 1890 release, it set the foundation for the army's modern social welfare approach.

The book speaks of abolishing vice and poverty by establishing homes for the homeless, farm communities such as Hadleigh Farm where the urban poor can be trained in agriculture, training centres for prospective emigrants, homes for fallen women and released prisoners, aid for the poor, and help for drunkards.

He also lays down schemes for poor men's lawyers, banks, clinics, industrial schools and even a seaside resort.

During its early years The Salvation Army faced opposition, especially from those in the alcohol-selling industry who were concerned that the activities of Booth and his followers would persuade the poorer classes to stop drinking.

While William Booth had once said to his children that "The Salvation Army does not belong to you, or to me, it belongs to the world" and was very wary of the leadership of the army becoming a dynasty,[17] others believed that Booth was creating a dynasty, as was suggested by the fact that he insisted that his sons-in-law added 'Booth' to their own names (see Frederick Booth-Tucker and Arthur Booth-Clibborn).

The evangelist Rodney "Gipsy" Smith left him because of his rigidity and Dwight L. Moody would not support him because he felt there was a threat to the local church.

In 1904 he took part in a motor tour when he was driven around Great Britain, stopping off in cities, towns and villages to preach to the crowds from his open-top car.

William Booth died at age 83 on 20 August 1912 (or, in Salvationist parlance, was Promoted to Glory) at his home in Hadley Wood, London.

On 27 August 1912, Booth's funeral service was held at Olympia London where 40,000 people attended, including Queen Mary, who sat almost unrecognised far to the rear of the great hall.

In a letter to Bramwell Booth, King George V wrote: "The nation has lost a great organizer and the poor a whole-hearted and sincere friend."

United States President William Taft wrote "[Booth's] long life and great talents were dedicated to the noble work of helping the poor and weak and giving them another chance to attain success and happiness."

[21] Booth's funeral procession began at the Salvation Army's international headquarters as 10,000 uniformed Salvationists fell in behind.

Forty Salvation Army brass bands played the "Dead March" from Handel's Saul as the vast procession set off.

He was buried with his wife Catherine (died 1890) in Abney Park Cemetery, the main London burial ground for 19th-century non-conformists.

[25] Replicas of these statues stand in the Mile End Road, close to the site of the first Salvation Army meeting: that of William was unveiled in 1979, and that of Catherine in 2015.