William Booth

Marion Spies (Bergische Universität-GHS Wuppertal)
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William Booth was born on 10 April 1829 in Nottingham, England, the only son of the four surviving children of Samuel Booth and Mary Moss Booth. Because his father was rather unsuccessful as a building contractor, the family was poor, and Samuel assigned his son to a pawnbroker when William was only 13. As a result, his schooling remained sketchy, but he read much, training himself in writing and later in speech. Since his father died in 1832, young William was responsible for the family, working as a pawnbroker’s assistant, first in Nottingham, then, after 1849, in London, sending as much money home as possible.

In Nottingham, the weavers very much felt the impact of the “hungry years” after the Battle of Waterloo. Among these poor, Methodism was strong, and ministers were

1014 words

Citation: Spies, Marion. "William Booth". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 16 March 2001 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=485, accessed 19 March 2024.]

485 William Booth 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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