Charles Booth

Who was Charles Booth?

Charles James Booth was an English philanthropist and social researcher. He is most famed for his innovative work on documenting working class life in London at the end of the 19th century, work that along with that of Benjamin Seebohm Rowntree influenced government intervention against poverty in the early 20th century and led to the founding of Old Age pensions. and free school meals for the poorest children.

Booth was a cousin of the Fabian socialist and author Martha Beatrice Webb, Baroness Passfield. Booth worked closely with Potter for his research on poverty.

St Paul's Cathedral is the grateful recipient of his gift of Holman Hunt's painting: The Light of The World.