Joseph Holdsworh Oldham and Betty D. Gibson

Joseph Houldsworth Oldham was a pioneer in ecumenical mission work. He was born in 1874 of Scottish parents in India. After a short trip to India in 1897 (where he married Mary Fraser in 1898) he returned to study theology at New College in Edinburgh in 1901. He was the organising secretary for the 1910 World Missionary Conference, held in Edinburgh. In 1912, Oldham founded the International Review of Missions, which became the most prominent missionary periodical in the world. In 1921, he founded the International Missionary Council.

With his secretary, Betty Gibson, he travelled widely, particularly to Africa, where he was concerned with the colonial administration of the continent and education work. Oldham was interested in the promotion of African culture and languages, establishing a committee on Native Education in Tropical Africa and securing funds for the International Institute of African Languages and Cultures.

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