Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell

Lieutenant General The Right Honourable The Lord Baden-Powell
Baden-Powell in his scouting uniform, c. 1910–20
Nickname(s)	B-P, Robin (by his wife)[1]
Born	(1857-02-22)22 February 1857 Paddington, London, England
Died	8 January 1941(1941-01-08) (aged 83) Nyeri, British Kenya
Buried	St Peter's Cemetery, Nyeri, Kenya 0°25′08″S 36°57′00″E / 0.418968°S 36.950117°E / -0.418968; 36.950117
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army
Years of service	1876–1910
Rank	Lieutenant-General
Commands held	Inspector General of Cavalry (1903) 5th Dragoon Guards (1897)
Battles/wars	Anglo-Ashanti wars Second Matabele War Siege of Mafeking Second Boer War
Awards	Member of the Order of Merit Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Boy Scouts Association Silver Wolf Boy Scouts of America Silver Buffalo Award[2] Boy Scouts International Committee Bronze Wolf Award[3] Wateler Peace Prize
Spouse(s)	Olave St Clair Soames
Children	Arthur Robert Peter Baden-Powell Heather Grace Baden-Powell Betty St Clair Baden-Powell
Other work	Founder of the international Scouting Movement; writer; artist
Signature

Lieutenant-General Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, OM, GCMG, GCVO, KCB, KStJ, DL (/ˈbeɪdən ˈpoʊəl/ BAY-dən POH-əl;^[4] 22 February 1857 – 8 January 1941) was a British Army officer, writer, founder and first Chief Scout of the world-wide Scout Movement, and founder, with his sister Agnes, of the world-wide Girl Guide/Girl Scout Movement. Baden-Powell wrote the seminal work Scouting for Boys, which, with his previous 1899 book Aids to Scouting for N.-C.Os and Men^[5] (intended for the military) captured the imagination of the boys of Britain and led to the creation of the Scout Movement.^[6]

Educated at Charterhouse School, Baden-Powell served in the British Army from 1876 until 1910 in India and Africa.^[7] In 1899, during the Second Boer War in South Africa, Baden-Powell successfully defended the town in the Siege of Mafeking.^[8] Several of his books, written for military reconnaissance and scout training in his African years, were also read by boys. In August 1907, he held a demonstration camp, the Brownsea Island Scout camp, which is now seen as the beginning of Scouting.^[9] Based on his earlier books, particularly Aids to Scouting, he wrote Scouting for Boys,^[10] published in 1908 by Sir Arthur Pearson, for boy readership. In 1910 Baden-Powell retired from the army and formed The Scout Association.

The first Scout Rally was held at The Crystal Palace in 1909. Girls in Scout uniform attended, telling Baden-Powell that they were the "Girl Scouts". In 1910, Baden-Powell and his sister Agnes Baden-Powell started the Girl Guide and Girl Scout organisation. In 1912 he married Olave St Clair Soames. He gave guidance to the Scout and Girl Guide movements until retiring in 1937. Baden-Powell lived his last years in Nyeri, Kenya, where he died and was buried in 1941. His grave is a national monument.^[11]