BOOTH, William, founder of the Salva tion Army: b. Nottingham, England, 10 April 1829; d. London, 20 Aug. 1912. He was edu cated in his native town, and from 1850 to 1861 acted as a minister of the Methodist New Connection. He was from the first a zealous evangelist, but his unconventional methods shocked old-fashioned Christians. He suc ceeded in touching a class that had drifted away from church connection, and one of the first fruits of his new method was to organize a *star company* of converted criminals. The departure which led to the creation of the Salvation Army (q.v.) on military lines began in 1865 with mission work among the lower classes in the East End of London. Since 1877 Booth's movement has been known as the Salvation Army, of which he was the main spring and controlling power, directing its movements at home and abroad from his head quarters in London. His enthusiasm and or ganizing power gave life to the religious mil itary system of which he was °general* and which had for its primary object the evangeli zation and social uplift of the tenth.* The late King Edward VII gave him
valuable support. In 1890 he published (Darkest England and the Way Out,) in which he advocated a scheme for the reclamation of unemployables by means of farm colonies. The scheme, however, for which funds were raised, did not realize expectations, but valuable work was done in the way of aiding emigration. °General* Booth's funeral, to Abney Park cemetery, evoked a wonderful demonstration of popular sympathy. His wife (née Catherine Mumford) was until her death in 1890, a tower of strength to her husband in all his undertakings; it was she who suggested the adoption of a distinctive uniform for the mem bers of the Army, and she designed what is known as the *Hallelujah bonnet.*