Seton, << SEET uhn, >> Ernest Thompson (1860-1946), was the pen name of a popular Canadian writer and illustrator of animal and woodcraft books for young people. He helped found the Boy Scouts of America, wrote the first Scout manual, and was Chief Scout for five years. He also founded the Woodcraft Indians, an organization of boys and girls.
Seton was born Ernest Seton Thompson in South Shields, England, on Aug. 14, 1860, and moved to Canada with his family in 1866. He studied art in London, Paris, and New York City, and then returned to Canada as a government naturalist.
Seton later lived in New York City and New Mexico. He won fame with such books as Wild Animals I Have Known (1898), Lives of the Hunted (1901), and Two Little Savages (1903). He died on Oct. 23, 1946.
