Baden-Powell, << BAY duhn POH uhl, >> Lord (1857-1941), founded the Boy Scout movement. Drawing on his experiences as an officer in the British Army as well as contemporary fears that British power was declining, he became convinced that British boys needed more physical training, outdoor experience, and character building than they had been receiving. He started the Boy Scouts in the United Kingdom in 1907. With his sister, Agnes Baden-Powell, he organized the Girl Guides in the United Kingdom in 1909. As Scouting spread, Baden-Powell became the most important Scout leader in the world. He wrote books on Scouting and on military campaigns.
Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell was born on Feb. 22, 1857, in London, and attended the Charterhouse school. He joined the British Army in 1876 and served in India, Afghanistan, and western and southern Africa. During the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902 in South Africa, his defense of Mafeking (now Mafikeng) earned Colonel Baden-Powell a promotion to major general. He died on Jan. 8, 1941.
See also Boy Scouts .
