Biographical Note

Sir George Williams—the founder of the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA)—was born on October 11, 1821at Ashway Farm in Dulverton, Somerset, England. Williams became a devout Christian in his youth, and while working in London as a draper, he was “moved by the needs of the youth of his day” and began gathering groups of young men together for prayer and reflection. This simple act developed into the worldwide YMCA movement.

The organization was officially founded on June 6, 1844, and within the next year, the YMCA was holding public lectures in rented halls and Sunday afternoon teas at Hotel Radley in London. By 1851, the YMCA had spread to sixteen other cities in England, Scotland, and Ireland. There were twenty-four Y’s—with a combined membership of 2,700—at this time. The YMCA movement reached North American shores that same year, with the first YMCA established in Montreal, Quebec on November 25 and the second in Boston, Massachusetts on December 29, 1851.

“In recognition of his historic contribution to the youth of Great Britain and the world,” Williams was knighted by Queen Victoria in 1894, the 50th anniversary of the founding of the YMCA. To celebrate this Golden Jubilee, the International YMCA Training School (now Springfield College) in Springfield, Massachusetts requested that Williams give an address to their students. After writing his address, Williams went to Edison House in London and made a wax cylinder recording of the speech to send to the school. The recording was played at the School’s commencement ceremonies that same year. By the time of this celebration, there were over 5,000 YMCAs in twenty-four countries with more than 500,000 members.

Williams died on November 6, 1905 and is buried in St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, and his life and work have been commemorated by a stained-glass window bearing the YMCA red triangle insignia in the nave of Westminster Abbey. His funeral was held on November 14, 1905. Williams’ YMCA is known today as the “oldest and most widespread youth movement in the world.”

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