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.
Oldham's efforts to promote the role of the laity and to encourage the co-operation of religious and secular groups was to lead to the establishment of the World Council of Churches. In the Second World War, he encouraged debates on lay responsibility in society, working with John Baillie and T.S Eliot. After retirement from public life, Oldham continued to research and write, particularly about Africa. He died in 1969 in Sussex.
Betty Gibson worked for the International Missionary Council, and was a secretary and administrator for the organisation and Oldham himself. She joined the staff of Oldham's Continuation Committee in 1916, making several trips overseas and keeping in close contact with Oldham throughout.
From the guide to the Papers of Joseph H. Oldham and Betty Gibson, 1912-1975, (Centre for the Study of World Christianity)
