Everything about William D Boyce totally explained
William Dickson "W. D." Boyce (
June 16,
1858 –
June 11,
1929), was an
American newspaper man and entrepreneur, best known today for founding the
Boy Scouts of America and the
Lone Scouts of America.
Early life
Boyce was born
June 16,
1858 in
Plum Township, Pennsylvania. In the back-country days of his childhood, Boyce acquired a love for the outdoors and a tremendous work ethic. He attended the Wooster Academy in
Ohio in 1878, then went to
Chicago to become a salesman. Boyce was both a shrewd salesman and a quick learner, and people were drawn to his extroverted personality. He moved from city to city rapidly, unsatisfied with staying in one place.
Business enterprises
As Boyce traveled, he left in his wake many things. In
Winnipeg,
Manitoba he founded
The Commercial, a newspaper that lasted for 70 years, and in
Lisbon,
North Dakota he founded the
Lisbon Clipper. In
New Orleans he managed the New Orleans Cotton Exposition. Boyce was married in 1883 to Mary Jane Deacon, a woman also experienced in the ways of the outdoors.
In Chicago, he established the weekly
Saturday Blade in 1887, an illustrated newspaper aimed at a rural audience and sold by a legion of newsboys. The success of this paper established the W.D. Boyce Publishing Company. He would add additional papers, buying out the
Chicago Ledger, another weekly, in 1892. Others established included
Farm Business in 1914 and
Home Folks Magazine in 1922. Dwindling sales lead to the merger of the
Blade and
Ledger in 1925 as the monthly
Chicago Blade & Ledger. This paper would continue until 1937.
As Boyce's enterprises grew, he insisted on the welfare of delivery boys, and had as many as 30,000 in his employment. Working with them may have helped him gain an understanding of America's youth.
Foundation of the BSA
By the early
20th century, Boyce was a multi-millionaire. He had traveled the world and lived his dream, but, at 51, Boyce grew weary of financial success and turned his attention to
philanthropy. He turned to his childhood as a resource, but couldn't find the answer until a fateful stop to England while en route to what became a failed photographic expedition to Africa.
Unknown Scout legend
According to legend, he was lost on a foggy street in London in 1909 when an unknown Scout came to his aid, guiding him back to his destination. The boy then refused Boyce's tip, explaining that he was merely doing his duty as a Boy Scout. Soon thereafter, Boyce met with
General Baden-Powell, who was the head of the
Boy Scout Association at that time. Boyce returned to America, and, four months later, founded the
Boy Scouts of America on
February 8,
1910. He intended to base the program on
American Indian lore. This version of the legend has been printed in numerous BSA handbooks and magazines. There are
several variations of this legend, such as one that claimed he knew about Scouting ahead of time.
In actuality, Boyce stopped in London en route to a safari in
British East Africa. It is true that an unknown Scout helped him and refused a tip. But this Scout only helped him cross a street to a hotel, didn't take him to the Scout headquarters, and Boyce never met Baden-Powell. Upon Boyce's request, the unknown Scout did give him the address of the Scout headquarters, where Boyce went on his own and picked up a copy of
Scouting For Boys.
Scouting
After incorporating the Boy Scouts of America on
February 8,
1910, Boyce personally donated $1000 a month to keep the organization running. He wasn't interested in directing the organization, and turned over the construction of the organization to
Edgar M. Robinson, who proceeded to recruit the men who formed the permanent executive board of the BSA.
In later years, after clashing with the beliefs of
James West, Chief Scout Executive, regarding a program for boys who lived too far from town to join a troop, Boyce started a new Scouting-related venture: the
Lone Scouts of America, which allowed geographically isolated boys to experience Scouting. Eventually, the LSA was
merged into the BSA.
Death
Boyce died on
June 11,
1929, shortly after his only son died of an
embolism. Boyce is buried in his sometime hometown of
Ottawa, Illinois, in the
Ottawa Avenue Cemetery. A statue commemorating his contribution to the Boy Scouts of America stands near his grave.
Boyce was recognized with the
Silver Buffalo Award for his efforts in starting the BSA. The local
W. D. Boyce Council is named in his honor. In 2005, the BSA introduced the
William D. Boyce New Unit Organization Award, presented to the organizer of any new scout unit.
Works
- Lisbon and Her Industries (1883)
- A Strike (1894)
- Illustrated South America (1912)
- Illustrated Alaska and the Panama Canal (1914)
- Illustrated United States Colonies and Dependencies (1914)
- Illustrated Australia and New Zealand (1922)
- Illustrated Africa (1925)
Further Information
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