Congresswoman Heather Wilson, First Congressional District of New Mexico
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| On my honor... |
January 22, 2003 |
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BOY SCOUTS
On January 24, 1908, the Boy Scouts movement began in England with the publication of the first installment of Robert Baden-Powell`s Scouting for Boys. The name Baden-Powell was already well known to many English boys, and thousands of them eagerly bought up the handbook. By the end of April, the serialization of Scouting for Boys was completed, and scores of impromptu Boy Scout troops had sprung up across Britain.
With the success of Scouting for Boys, Baden-Powell set up a central Boy Scouts office, which registered new Scouts and designed a uniform. By the end of 1908, there were 60,000 Boy Scouts, and troops began springing up in British Commonwealth countries across the globe. In September 1909, the first national Boy Scout meeting was held at the Crystal Palace in London.
The American version of the Boy Scouts has its origins in an event that occurred in London in 1909. Chicago publisher William Boyce was lost in one of the city`s classic fogs when a Boy Scout came to his aid. After guiding Boyce to his destination, the boy refused a tip, explaining that as a Boy Scout he would not accept payment for doing a good deed. This anonymous gesture inspired Boyce to organize several regional U.S. organizations. |
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