Boy Scout Day

When : Always February 8th

Boy Scout Day celebrates the birthday of Scouting in America. On February 8, 1910, Chicago publisher William Dickson Boyce filed incorporation papers in the District of Columbia to create the Boy Scouts of America.

Scouting groups across the country celebrate this day. Often a cake will be served at the weekly meeting or on a campout. Scout Sunday, the Sunday nearest the 8th of February, will often be marked with a church service, followed by a pancake breakfast.

Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts offer a tremendously valuable program of life skills and values for millions of boys. It has been popular ever since Lord Baden-Powell founded Boy Scouts in the early 1900s in Great Brittain. The top award of Eagle Scout, is an accomplishment that reaps recognition, rewards, and benefits for a young man throughout his life.

Interesting Scouting Facts:
In 2004, there were 3,145,331 Boys in the scouting program, and 1,173,064 scout leaders. Source: BSA website.

British Lord Robert Baden-Powell founded the Boy Scouts in Brittain. In 1907, he published the first scouting manual, titled Scouting for Boys.

Lord Robert Baden-Powell was born on February 22, 1857.

Lady Olave Baden-Powell, founded Girl Guides. The wife of Lord Baden-Powell, she was also born on February 22 (1889).

The Boy Scout motto is "Do a good turn daily."

Where was Lord Baden-Powell buried? It comes a surprise to most, to learn that Lord Baden-Powell, and his wife are buried in Nyeri, Kenya, about three hours from Nairobi.

More Information:
Boy Scouts of America Homepage www.scouting.org/
Boy Scout Badge History www.sageventure.com/hist
ory/

This Day in History February 8
Mary, Queen of Scots, is executed on suspicion of having been involved in the Babington Plot to murder her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I. (1587)
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, rebels against Queen Elizabeth I – the revolt is quickly crushed. (1601)
The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia is granted a charter by King William III and Queen Mary II. (1693)
Richard Johnson becomes the first Vice President of the United States chosen by the United States Senate. (1837)
Delaware voters reject the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and vote to continue the practice of slavery. (Delaware finally ratifies the amendment on February 12, 1901.) (1865)
The Dawes Act authorizes the President of the United States to survey Native American tribal land and divide it into individual allotments. (1887)
The Boy Scouts of America is incorporated by William D. Boyce. (1910)
President Warren G. Harding introduces the first radio in the White House. (1922)
The first state execution in the United States by gas chamber takes place in Nevada. (1924)
Elizabeth II is proclaimed Queen of the United Kingdom. (1952)
The Orangeburg massacre: An attack on black students from South Carolina State University who are protesting racial segregation at the town's only bowling alley, leaves three or four dead in Orangeburg, South Carolina. (1968)
The U.S. Congress passes the Communications Decency Act. (1996)