Samuel Dwight Chown

Chown, Samuel Dwight

Samuel Dwight Chown, Methodist minister (b at Kingston, Canada W 11 Apr 1853; d at Toronto 30 Jan 1933). He was ordained 1879 and served several churches before his appointment 1902 as secretary of the newly created Department of Temperance and Moral Reform, where he fought for social and political reform. In 1910 he was elected general superintendent of the Methodist Church and led that body into the UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA in 1925. His WWI experiences as chaplain led him to condemn war and actively support the League of Nations. Considered Canada's leading churchman, he continued work for world peace and social improvement after his retirement in 1926. Mount Chown in British Columbia commemorates his contribution to Canada's social development.