LORD ROBERT BADEN-POWELL Chief Scout of the World

Young Robert Baden-Powell (B-P), second from the left, as a member of the Wimbledon Rifle Team in 1874, when he was only 17 years old.

B-P exhibits his creative talents with other officers of the 13th Hussars in India, 1877.

Lieutenant Robert S.S. Baden-Powell, 13th Hussars, Age 21, in 1878.

B-P with a group of officers from the 13th Hussars B-P with a group of officers from the 13th Hussars. He is seated, second from the left.

B-P was on a regimental polo team in India.

B-P as adjutant of the 13th Hussars in 1895, at age 38.

He shaved off his moustache for an amateur theatrical production with his regimental unit.

South African Prince (later King) Dinizulu during the Zulu civil war of 1883-1884. B-P tracked him through Natal, South Africa in 1888.

A group of native warriors during the Matabele War, 1896-1897, in Zimbabwe.

B-P on horse patrol in the Matopo Hills in 1896, during the Matabele War.

While in Africa, Baden-Powell honed many of the skills he would later incorporate into Boy Scouts principles, including orienteering, woodcraft, surviving in the wilderness, thinking independently, and using initiative.

B-P with officers of the Protectorate Regiment in 1899.

B-P at Mafeking during the Boer War in South Africa, 1899.

Robert Stephenson Smythe Baden-Powell, 1900, at age 43. Major-General Robert Stephenson Smythe Baden-Powell, 1900, at age 43.

By the end of that first year of scouting, there were over By 1908 B-P had returned to England and began publishing chapters of a new book, Scouting for Boys, every two weeks. Boys everywhere began buying it and forming themselves into patrols. By the end of that first year of scouting, there were over sixty thousand new Boy Scouts!

By the spring of 1910, B-P was traveling frequently to spread the word and visit Scout Troops. He delivered up to twelve lectures per month on Scouting. Within the next two years he went to Russia, China, Japan, and the United States, seeing first-hand that Scouting had taken hold worldwide.

A photograph of Baden-Powell on his wedding day in 1912.

Lieutenant-General B-P in France during World War I, 1916.

In September of 1919 the first Scoutmasters Course was held In September of 1919 the first Scoutmasters Course was held. When they finished their training, a simple wooden bead was given to each man to recognize his accomplishments. This is why the Scouting leaders training is now known as the Wood Badge Course.

The wooden beads given to each Scoutmasters Course participant came from a long necklace worn by Prince Dinizulu in Africa over thirty years earlier. The necklace contained 1,000 wooden beads!

Chief Scout of the World. At the first Boy Scouts World Jamboree at Olympia, London, in 1920, B-P was officially named and recognized as Chief Scout of the World.

In 1922 a census was performed, which found that there were over one million Scouts in thirty-two countries!

B-P with Scouts at the Imperial Jamboree, London, 1924.

B-P with King Christian X of Denmark at the Second World Scouting Jamboree outside Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1924.

Lord Baden-Powell and his family returning from a trip to South Africa in 1927.

Lord Baden-Powell’s home in Bentley, Hampshire, England PAX HILL Lord Baden-Powell’s home in Bentley, Hampshire, England

B-P and his wife Olave await an audience with the Pope at the Vatican in 1933.

B-P at home with his dogs in 1935 when he was 78.

Lord Robert Baden-Powell with the Prince of Wales at a Scouts Rally (undated)

Portrait of Lord Robert Baden-Powell painted by Benjamin Eggleston, an American painter from Minnesota.

LORD ROBERT BADEN-POWELL February 22, 1857 - January 8, 1941 Chief Scout of the World