The son of a WM minister, Ralph Gibson (1791-1848; e.m. 1815), he was educated at Woodhouse Grove School. He was appointed to the new Rue Roquépine church, Paris, in 1862 and remained there until the 1870 siege. From 1878 on he concentrated his intellectual gifts and prodigious capacity for hard work on developing the 'Mission populaire', which extended from Paris to the Channel coast. He introduced working people to his own evangelical hymn-book and such hitherto unfamiliar activities as Bible classes and youth and temperance societies. He travelled widely in Europe and crossed the Atlantic frequently, raising funds and promoting the Mission, despite opposition from the Committee in London, and died in harness on 27 August 1894.

See also France.

Entry written by: MJF
Category: Person
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