Young Men's Christian Association.
An organization
for promoting the spiritual, intellectual, social, and physical
welfare of young men, founded, June 6, 1844, by George Williams
(knighted therefor by Queen Victoria) in London. In 1851 it extended
to the United States and Canada, and in 1855 representatives of
similar organizations throughout Europe and America formed an
international body. The movement has successfully expanded not only
among young men in general, but also specifically among railroad men,
in the army and navy, with provision for Indians and negroes, and a
full duplication of all the various lines of operation in the boys'
departments.
© Webster 1913.