Founders of the BSA
Today marks the 108th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America. Below are the individuals who played a key role in establishing this great program.
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, BadenPowell
discovered that English boys were reading the manual on stalking and survival in the
wilderness he had written for his military regiment. 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.