April 10 is the day on which William Booth (1829-1912), founder of the international religious and charitable movement known as the Salvation Army, was born in Nottingham, England. His work as a pawnbroker in London acquainted Booth with all forms of human misery and economic suffering, and his conversion to Methodism led to a career as a Methodist lay preacher and eventually as an independent evangelist.
With the help of his wife, Catherine Mumford, he established the East London Revival Society, which soon became known as the Christian Mission and later the Salvation Army, characterized by its military ranks, uniforms, flags, bands, and regulation books. Booth's work encompassed social reform as well as religious conversion, and he set up children's and maternity homes, food and shelter stations, and agencies for helping discharged criminals. The Salvation Army expanded to the United States in 1880, and today it has outposts in more than 80 countries.
Although Booth's birthday is observed to varying degrees at Salvation Army outposts around the world, a major celebration was held on the organization's centennial in 1965. In the United States, there were open houses at Salvation Army institutions, special commemorative religious services, and other anniversary events. In London, a centennial congress was held in the Royal Albert Hall. The Salvation Army regards 1865 as the year of its founding because on July 2 that year, William Booth first preached at an open-air meeting in London's East End, a slum district notorious for its poverty and crime rate.
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