David Watson (March 7, 1933 – February 18, 1984) David Watson was an English Anglican priest, evangelist, and author whose ministry revitalized churches through charismatic renewal and passionate evangelism. Born at Catterick Camp, Yorkshire, to a military family, he was educated at Bedford School (1940–1946) and Wellington College (1946–1951), where he was head boy. Initially skeptical of faith, Watson converted to Christianity while studying philosophy at St John’s College, Cambridge (B.A., 1957), influenced by the Cambridge Inter-Collegiate Christian Union and E. J. H. Nash’s Iwerne camps. He trained for ordination at Ridley Hall, Cambridge (1957–1959), was ordained a deacon in 1959 and priest in 1960, and began his ministry among dock workers at St Mark’s, Gillingham, Kent. His second curacy at the Round Church, Cambridge, saw him embrace the baptism of the Holy Spirit, encouraged by Martyn Lloyd-Jones, leading him to speak in tongues and adopt charismatic practices. In 1965, Watson became curate-in-charge of St Cuthbert’s, York, a near-redundant church with a dozen attendees; within eight years, it grew dramatically, necessitating a move to St Michael le Belfrey, York, where thousands attended. A global evangelist, he led over 60 university missions and citywide festivals, authored books like I Believe in Evangelism and Fear No Evil—the latter chronicling his battle with cancer, diagnosed in 1983—and contributed to Renewal magazine. Watson championed ecumenical charismatic renewal, notably through the Fountain Trust, and engaged in peace marches in Northern Ireland. Married to Anne in 1964, he died of cancer in 1984, leaving a legacy as a transformative figure in British evangelicalism, with admirers like J. I. Packer calling him one of England’s best-known clergymen.