On This Day
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First meeting of the Boys' Brigade in Glasgow, Scotland.

The Boys' Brigade is the largest Christian uniformed youth organisation in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland.

The Boys' Brigade is the largest Christian uniformed youth organisation in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. The Boys' Brigade was founded in Glasgow, Scotland, on 4 October 1883 by Sir William Alexander Smith, and celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2008. Felden Lodge in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, no longer serves as the main headquarters as it was sold in 2023. Other regions have their own regional headquarters. Today the BB has in the region of 20,000 boys involved in over 750 companies ranging geographically from Shetland to Guernsey.

The Boys' Brigade operates in Northern Ireland and County Donegal under The Northern Ireland Boys' Brigade (BBNI) and is independent of The Boys' Brigade UK & RoI.

Historical Significance

The Boys' Brigade is the largest Christian uniformed youth organisation in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland.

Events Before

  1. German scientist Robert Koch discovers and describes the tubercle bacillus, which causes tuberculosis (Mycobacterium tub

    German scientist Robert Koch discovers and describes the tubercle bacillus, which causes tuberculosis (Mycobacterium tuberculosis), establishing germ theory

  2. Actress Sarah Bernhardt marries diplomat Aristide Damala in London

    Sarah Bernhardt was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including La Dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas fils, Ruy...

  3. Richard Wagner's opera "Parsifal" premieres in Bayreuth, Germany

    Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor, best known for his operas, although his mature works are often referred to as music dramas.

  4. US educational pioneer Booker T. Washington (26) weds Fanny Smith

    US educational pioneer Booker T. Washington (26) weds Fanny Smith

  5. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" debuts in Moscow

    The Year 1812, Solemn Overture, Op. 49, popularly known as the 1812 Overture, is a concert overture in E♭ major written in 1880 by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

Events After

  1. American painter Thomas Eakins (40) weds American painter and photographer Susan Macdowell (32) in a Quaker ceremony in

    American painter Thomas Eakins (40) weds American painter and photographer Susan Macdowell (32) in a Quaker ceremony in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, until his death in 1916

  2. Abolitionist Frederick Douglass marries his second wife suffragist Helen Pitts

    Abolitionist Frederick Douglass marries his second wife suffragist Helen Pitts

  3. First volume of the Oxford English Dictionary, A-Ant, is published

    The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house.

  4. Siege of Khartoum, Sudan, begins by Mahdist forces and lasts ten months

    The siege of Khartoum (also known as the battle of Khartoum or fall of Khartoum) took place from 13 March 1884 to 26 January 1885.

  5. American mechanical engineer Frederick Winslow Taylor (28) weds Louise M. Spooner in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

    American mechanical engineer Frederick Winslow Taylor (28) weds Louise M. Spooner in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

More from the 1880s

The National Geographic Society is founded in Washington, D.C., to promote "the increase and diffusion of geographic kno

The National Geographic Society is founded in Washington, D.C., to promote "the increase and diffusion of geographic knowledge" [1]

The first electric lighting system employing overhead wires, built by Thomas Edison, begins service at Roselle, New Jers

The first electric lighting system employing overhead wires, built by Thomas Edison, begins service at Roselle, New Jersey

American painter Thomas Eakins (40) weds American painter and photographer Susan Macdowell (32) in a Quaker ceremony in

American painter Thomas Eakins (40) weds American painter and photographer Susan Macdowell (32) in a Quaker ceremony in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, until his death in 1916

Abolitionist Frederick Douglass marries his second wife suffragist Helen Pitts

Abolitionist Frederick Douglass marries his second wife suffragist Helen Pitts

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on October 4, 1883?
The Boys' Brigade is the largest Christian uniformed youth organisation in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. The Boys' Brigade was founded in Glasgow, Scotland, on 4 October 1883 by Sir William Alexander Smith, and celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2008. Felden Lodge in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, no longer serves as the main headquarters as it was sold in 2023.
Why is First meeting of the Boys' Brigade in Glasgow, Scotland. significant?
The Boys' Brigade is the largest Christian uniformed youth organisation in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland.

Explore More

October 4 in HistoryYear 1883