William D. Boyce was an American newspaper man, entrepreneur, magazine
publisher, and explorer. He was the founder of the Boy Scouts of
America and the short-lived Lone Scouts of America. Born in Plum
Township, Pennsylvania and an astute businessman, Boyce successfully
established several newspapers. He moved to Chicago to pursue his
entrepreneurial ambitions. There he established the Mutual Newspaper
Publishing Company and the weekly Saturday Blade. With his novel
employment of newsboys to boost newspaper sales, Boyce's namesake
publishing company maintained a circulation of 500,000 copies per week
by 1894. By the early years of the 20th century, Boyce had become a
multi-millionaire and had taken a step back from his businesses to
pursue his interests in civic affairs, devoting more time to traveling
and participating in expeditions. In 1909, he embarked on a two-month
trip to Europe and a large photographic expedition to Africa with
photographer George R. Lawrence and cartoonist John T. McCutcheon.
Boyce learned about Scouting while passing through London, England
during his first expedition to Africa in 1909. From its start, Boyce
focused the Scouting program on teaching self-reliance, citizenship,
resourcefulness, patriotism, obedience, cheerfulness, courage, and
courtesy in order "to make men". After clashing over the Scouting
program with Chief Scout Executive James E. West, he split from the BSA
and founded the LSA in January 1915, which catered to rural boys who
had limited opportunities to form a troop or a patrol. In June 1924, a
merger was completed between the BSA and the struggling LSA.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_D._Boyce>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1487:
Lancastrian forces defeated Yorkist supporters at the Battle of Stoke
Field in East Stoke, Nottinghamshire, England, the final battle of the
Wars of the Roses.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Stoke_Field>
1745:
King George's War: British colonial forces led by William Pepperrell
captured the French stronghold at Fortress Louisbourg on Cape Breton
Island after a six-week siege.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortress_of_Louisbourg>
1815:
Napoleonic Wars: French forces under Napoléon defeated Blücher's larger
Prussian army in the Battle of Ligny, while French Marshal Michel Ney
earned a strategic victory against the Anglo-Dutch army in the Battle
of Quatre Bras.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ligny>
1904:
Irish author James Joyce began his relationship with Nora Barnacle, and
subsequently used the date to set the actions for his 1922 novel
Ulysses.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Joyce>
1963:
Aboard Vostok 6, Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the
first woman in space.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentina_Tereshkova>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
rosette (n):
1. An imitation of a rose by means of ribbon or other material, used
especially as a badge.
2. (architecture) An ornament in the form of a rose or roundel.
3.
(botany) One or more whorls of leaves, clustered tightly at the base of
a plant
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/rosette>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
When you're 50 you start thinking about things you haven’t thought
about before. I used to think getting old was about vanity — but
actually it's about losing people you love. Getting wrinkles is
trivial.
--Joyce Carol Oates
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Joyce_Carol_Oates>