George Williams (1821 - 1905)
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June 6th 1844: YMCA founded
On this day in 1844, the Young Men’s Christian Association was founded in London. Founded by draper George Williams, the association was intended to promote the welfare of workers by spreading Christian values. In its first years, the YMCA expanded across London to help urban workers, establishing public education classes. In the 1850s it spread outside London, reaching other British cities and then expanding abroad, with a YMCA established in Boston, America in 1851. By the turn of the century, YMCA was a fully fledged international organisation, running summer camps and gyms around the world; in the 1890s, the American YMCA invented basketball and volleyball. In 1894, George Williams was knighted by Queen Victoria for his philanthropic efforts. In the years during and after the First World War, the YMCA sought to assist troops both on the battlefield and in finding work after the war. In the 1960s, they began to establish youth clubs, which increasingly focused on helping those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Today, the YMCA has over 58 million members in 119 countries worldwide.
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