History of Scouting
Founders of Scouting and the BSA
Robert S. S. Baden-Powell
As a youth, Robert Baden-Powell greatly enjoyed the outdoors,
learning about nature and how to live in the wilderness. After
returning as a military hero from service in Africa, Baden-Powell
discovered that English boys were reading the manual on stalking and
survival in the wilderness he had written for British soldiers.
Gathering ideas from Ernest Thompson Seton, Daniel Carter Beard, and
others, he rewrote the manual as a nonmilitary nature skill book and
called it Scouting for Boys. To test his ideas, Baden-Powell
brought together 22 boys to camp at Brownsea Island, off the coast of
England. This historic campout was a success and resulted in the advent
of Scouting. Thus, the imagination and inspiration of Baden-Powell,
later proclaimed Chief Scout of the World, brought Scouting to youth the
world over.
Ernest Thompson Seton
Born in Scotland, Ernest Thompson Seton immigrated to America as a
youth in the 1880s. His fascination with the wilderness led him to
become a naturalist, an artist, and an author, and through his works he
influenced both youth and adults. Seton established a youth
organization called the Woodcraft Indians, and his background of outdoor
skills and interest in youth made him a logical choice for the
position of first Chief Scout of the BSA in 1910. His many volumes of
Scoutcraft became an integral part of Scouting, and his intelligence
and enthusiasm helped turn an idea into reality.
Daniel Carter Beard
Woodsman, illustrator, and naturalist, Daniel Carter Beard was a
pioneering spirit of the Boy Scouts of America. Already 60 years old
when the Boy Scouts of America was formed, he became a founder and
merged it with his own boys’ organization, the Sons of Daniel Boone. As
the first national Scout commissioner, Beard helped design the original
Scout uniform and introduced the elements of the First Class Scout
badge. “Uncle Dan,” as he was known to boys and leaders, will be
remembered as a colorful figure dressed in buckskin who helped form
Scouting in the United States.
William D. Boyce
In 1909, Chicago publisher William D. Boyce lost his way in a dense
London fog. A boy came to his aid and, after guiding the man, refused a
tip, explaining that as a Scout he would not take a tip for doing a
Good Turn. This gesture by an unknown Scout inspired a meeting with
Robert Baden-Powell, the British founder of the Boy Scouts. As a
result, William Boyce incorporated the Boy Scouts of America on February
8, 1910. He also created the Lone Scouts, which merged with the Boy
Scouts of America in 1924.
James E. West
James E. West was appointed the first Chief Scout Executive of the
Boy Scouts of America in 1911. Although orphaned and physically
handicapped, he had the perseverance to graduate from law school and
become a successful attorney. This same determination provided the
impetus to help build Scouting into the largest and most effective youth
organization in the world. When he retired in 1943, Dr. West was
recognized throughout the country as the true architect of the Boy
Scouts of America.