Charles H. Watson
Encyclopedia
Charles H. Watson was a Seventh-day Adventist
minister and administrator. He was President of the General Conference
from 1930 to 1936.
Watson was born in Australia on 8 October 1877 to a farming family who lived near Yambuk, Victoria
.
On 23 March 1898 he married his neighbor and childhood sweetheart, Elizabeth Mary Shanks. In 1900 his family was introduced to Seventh-Day Adventist doctrines. Charles resisted accepting these doctrines until 1902, when he found no biblical support for Sunday observance
and was baptized by W. A. Hennig. Watson had been a successful wool buyer, but quit the business in 1907 to attend Australasian Missionary College
in order to study for the ministry. He graduated from this school in 1909 and was ordained into Seventh-Day Adventist ministry on 14 September 1912.
His business sense and aptitude for remembering names and faces gained him a reputation for administrative skill, and in 1915 he was elected president of the Australasian Union Conference. During this time he preached in Australia, Fiji
, Tahiti
, and the United States of America.
From 1922 until 1926 he served as vice-president and associate treasurer of the General Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists.
He returned to North America in 1930 to attend the General Conference Session, where he was elected President of the General Conference, in no small part due to his financial ability. He directed the Adventist church during a time of budget-cutting and consolidation, while accomplishing a period of denominational growth.
When his term ended in 1936, he returned to Queensland, Australia, where he assumed the duties of vice-president of the Australasian Division and president of the Australasian Union Conference. He retired in 1944. He died on 24 December 1962 at Sydney Sanitarium and Hospital, and was buried in Northern Suburbs Cemetery in Sydney, Australia.
Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is a Protestant Christian denomination distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the original seventh day of the Judeo-Christian week, as the Sabbath, and by its emphasis on the imminent second coming of Jesus Christ...
minister and administrator. He was President of the General Conference
General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
The General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists is the governing organization of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. It is located in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States, where it moved in 1989...
from 1930 to 1936.
Watson was born in Australia on 8 October 1877 to a farming family who lived near Yambuk, Victoria
Yambuk, Victoria
Yambuk is a town in Victoria, Australia. The township was established in the 1850s, the Post Office opening 1 March 1859.At the 2006 census, the town and surrounding area had a population of 540. It is located where the Princes Highway crosses the Shaw River...
.
On 23 March 1898 he married his neighbor and childhood sweetheart, Elizabeth Mary Shanks. In 1900 his family was introduced to Seventh-Day Adventist doctrines. Charles resisted accepting these doctrines until 1902, when he found no biblical support for Sunday observance
Lord's Day
Lord's Day is a Christian name for Sunday, the day of communal worship. It is observed by most Christians as the weekly memorial of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is said in the four canonical Gospels of the New Testament to have been witnessed alive from the dead early on the first day of...
and was baptized by W. A. Hennig. Watson had been a successful wool buyer, but quit the business in 1907 to attend Australasian Missionary College
Avondale College
Avondale College of Higher Education is an Australian tertiary education provider affiliated with the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Avondale College has two campuses, Lake Macquarie being the primary campus situated in Cooranbong, New South Wales...
in order to study for the ministry. He graduated from this school in 1909 and was ordained into Seventh-Day Adventist ministry on 14 September 1912.
His business sense and aptitude for remembering names and faces gained him a reputation for administrative skill, and in 1915 he was elected president of the Australasian Union Conference. During this time he preached in Australia, Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
, Tahiti
Tahiti
Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
, and the United States of America.
From 1922 until 1926 he served as vice-president and associate treasurer of the General Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists.
He returned to North America in 1930 to attend the General Conference Session, where he was elected President of the General Conference, in no small part due to his financial ability. He directed the Adventist church during a time of budget-cutting and consolidation, while accomplishing a period of denominational growth.
When his term ended in 1936, he returned to Queensland, Australia, where he assumed the duties of vice-president of the Australasian Division and president of the Australasian Union Conference. He retired in 1944. He died on 24 December 1962 at Sydney Sanitarium and Hospital, and was buried in Northern Suburbs Cemetery in Sydney, Australia.
See also
- History of the Seventh-day Adventist ChurchHistory of the Seventh-day Adventist ChurchThe Seventh-day Adventist Church had its roots in the Millerite movement of the 1830s and 1840s, during the period of the Second Great Awakening, and was officially founded in 1863. Prominent figures in the early church included Hiram Edson, James Springer White and his wife Ellen G. White, Joseph...