Robert baden-powell biography

Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell OM, GCMG, GCVO, KCB (22 February 1857 ; 8 January 1941), also known as B-P, was a Lieutenant-General in the British Army, writer, and founder of the Scouting movement.

After having been educated at Charterhouse School, Baden-Powell served in the British Army from 1876 until 1910 in India and Africa. In 1899, during the Second Boer War in South Africa, Baden-Powell successfully defended the city in the Siege of Mafeking. He started writing books on military topics in order to better train soldiers. Several of his military books, written for military reconnaissance and scout training in his African years, were also read by boys.

Based on those earlier books, he wrote Scouting for Boys, published in 1908 by Cyril Arthur Pearson, for youth readership. During writing, he tested his ideas through a camping trip on Brownsea Island in 1907, which is now seen as the beginning of Scouting. After his marriage with Olave St Clair Soames, he, his sister Agnes Baden-Powell and notably his wife actively gave guidance to the Scouting Movement and the Girl Guides Movement.

History

Early life

Baden-Powell was born at 9 Stanhope Street, Paddington in London, in 1857. He was the seventh of eight sons among ten children from the third marriage of Reverend, a Savilian professor of geometry at Oxford University. His father died when he was three, and as tribute to his father, the family name Powell was changed to Baden-Powell. Subsequently, Robert Baden-Powell was raised by his mother, Henrietta Grace Powell née Smyth, a strong woman who was determined that her children would succeed. Baden-Powell would say of her in 1933 "The whole secret of my getting on lay with my mother.

After attending Rose Hill School, Tunbridge Wells, Baden-Powell was awarded a scholarship to Charterhouse, which is a prestigious public school. His first introduction to Scouting skills was through stalking

Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, affectionately known as B.-P., Chief Scout, was born in London on the 22nd February, 1857. He was one of ten children. 

Baden-Powell attended Rose Hill School, Tunbridge Wells, where he gained a scholarship for Charterhouse. 

After leaving school, Baden-Powell joined the Army and was commissioned straight into the 13th Hussars and served with the Regiment in different parts of the world. 

In 1876 he went to India as a young army officer and specialised in scouting, map- making and reconnaissance. His success soon led to his training other soldiers for work. B.-P.’s methods were unorthodox for those days: small units of patrols working together under one leader, with special recognition for those who did well. For proficiency, B.-P. awarded his trainees badges resembling the traditional design of the north compass point. Today’s Scout Membership Badge is very similar. 

Later he was stationed in the Balkans, South Africa and Malta. He returned to Africa to help defend Mafeking during its 217-day siege at the start of the Boer War. It provided crucial tests for B.-P.’s scouting skills. The courage and resourcefulness shown by the boys in the corps messengers at Mafeking made a lasting impression on him. In turn his deed made a lasting impression in England. 

Returning home in 1903, he found that he had become a national hero. He also found that the small handbook he had written for solders (‘Aids to Scouting’) was being used by youth leaders and teachers all over the country to teach observation and woodcraft. 

He spoke at meetings and rallies, and whilst at a Boy’s Brigade gathering, he was asked by its Founder, Sir William Smith, to work out a better scheme for training boys in good citizenship. 

B.-P. set to work rewriting ‘Aids to Scouting’ for a younger readership. In 1907 he held an experimental camp on Brownsea Island, Poole, D

Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, OM, GCMG, GCVO, KCB (22 February 1857 – 8 January 1941) was an English army officer most known for starting the Boy Scouts. He was born in Paddington, in the West End of London and went to British public schools before joining the army. Baden-Powell served in South Africa during the Anglo-Ashanti and Boer Wars, and also served in Malta. Baden-Powell's most notable service was at the Siege of Mafeking. For that, he became a major general, and later a lieutenant general, which he was until 1910. In 1907, he founded the Boy Scouts, and wrote the first Handbook for Boys. He also started the Woodbadge program, which is based on Scoutcraft and things he learned from the Zulus. He also spied in Germany, Austria and Russia.

British soldier and founder of The Scout Association (1857–1941)

For the Canadian politician, see Robert Baden Powell (politician).

"Baden-Powell" and "B-P" redirect here. For other uses of the surname, see Baden Powell (disambiguation). For alternate uses of "BP", see BP (disambiguation).

Lieutenant-GeneralRobert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, OM, GCMG, GCVO, KCB, KStJ, DL (BAY-dən POH-əl; 22 February 1857 – 8 January 1941) was a British Army officer, writer, founder of The Boy Scouts Association and its first Chief Scout, and founder, with his sister Agnes, of The Girl Guides Association. Baden-Powell wrote Scouting for Boys, which, with his previous books, his 1884 Reconnaissance and Scouting and his 1899 Aids to Scouting for N.-C.Os and Men (intended for the military) and The Scout magazine helped the rapid growth of the Scout Movement.

Educated at Charterhouse School, Baden-Powell served in the British Army from 1876 until 1910 in India and Africa. In 1899, during the Second Boer War in South Africa, Baden-Powell defended the town in the Siege of Mafeking. His books, written for military reconnaissance and scout training, were also read by boys and used by teachers and youth organisations. In August 1907, he held an experimental camp, the Brownsea Island Scout camp to test his ideas for training boys in scouting. He wrote Scouting for Boys, published in 1908 by C. Arthur Pearson Limited, for boy readership. In 1910 Baden-Powell retired from the army and formed The Scout Association.

In 1909, a rally of Scouts was held at The Crystal Palace. Many girls in Scout uniform attended and, in front of the press, a small group told Baden-Powell that they were the "Girl Scouts". In 1910, Baden-Powell and his sister Agnes Baden-Powell started The Girl