Lidgett, John Scott
LIDGETT, JOHN SCOTT
English Methodist divine; b. Lewisham, Aug. 10, 1854; d. Epsom, June 16, 1953. After studying at the University of London, he was ordained to the Methodist ministry (1876). He became a noted preacher with a passion for social justice. Lidgett is remembered best for his foundation in 1891 of the Bermondsey Settlement, in which he held the position of warden. He was active in London municipal politics and served as alderman on the London County Council (1905–10) and as leader of the Progressive party (1919–28). He was editor of the Methodist Times (1907–18) and president of the Methodist Conference (1908). In 1932 he was instrumental in uniting the Wesleyan Methodist Church with the Primitive Methodist Church and the United Methodist Church, and then he became the first president of the United Methodist Church of Great Britain. At the University of London he sat on the senate (1926–46) and became vice chancellor (1930). His publications include The Spiritual Principle of the Atonement (1897), The Christian Religion: Its Meaning and Proof (1907), The Idea of God and Social Ideals (1938), God and the World (1943), and Salvation (1952).
Bibliography: e. w. baker et al., John Scott Lidgett: A Symposium, ed. r. e. davies (London 1957).
[w. hannah]