June 6, 1844 - George Williams Establishes the First YMCA

George Williams is a prime example of serving God where he has placed you. He was a successful businessman in the drapery industry in Victorian England, but he saw how deplorably most lower-class employees were treated by their superiors. Because of this, he and fellow drapery manufacturers met on June 6, 1844, and established the Young Men’s Christian Association (Y.M.C.A.). YMCAs then spread throughout the world, and Queen Victoria knighted Williams for “enthroning Jesus Christ in the hearts of young men.”