Booth, Catherine (1829–1890)

English co-founder of the Salvation Army with her husband William Booth. In about 1860 she became a public preacher, initiating the ministry of women. After preaching tours throughout the country, she helped to set up the Christian Mission in Whitechapel, London, in 1865, which later became the Salvation Army in 1878; she also started the Army's women's work.

Her belief in woman preachers is outlined in the pamphlet Female Ministry (1859).

Booth was born in Derbyshire, the daughter of a Wesleyan preacher, and met William Booth at Brixton Wesleyan Church, from which they were both expelled for religious zeal. They married in 1855, and she participated in her husband's evangelical work. Their eight children all became active in the Salvation Army movement.