Robert+Baden-+Powell

Robert Baden- Powell was born on February 22, 1857 and grew up to be one of the most widely known and accomplished men across the countries of Britain and South Africa. Although Baden-Powell is most famous for his involvement and foundation of The Boy Scouts, he was also a highly respected military official who fought in several wars across Africa and India.

After his education at Charterhouse School in Britain, Robert Baden- Powell served in the British Army for nearly 53 years. In 1876 Baden- Powell became a sub-lieutenant in the 13th Hussars, a cavalry regiment of the British Army. He earned his military skills amidst the Zulu in the early 1880s where his regiment had been posted. Baden-Powell excelled at his career as a military officer. He had many ventures where he had strived for military combat but had gotten none. Finally, in 1899 after publishing his 5th book, the British Commander in Chief sent Baden-Powell to South Africa to deal with an expected ar between the British and the Boers.

The Second Boer War was a bloody battle in which English-speaking and Afrikaans-speaking whites battled over South Africa’s supply of gold. Baden-Powell was assigned to raise a small regiment to protect Rhodesia and fool the Boers to think the British Troops were on their way. Alas, the Boers surrounded Baden-Powell and his men in a town by the name of Mafeking. The military captain managed to defend the town against nearly 7,000 Boers in 217 days. Some viewed his accomplishment as the first real victory for Britain and began calling him a hero. The experience earned him an incredible amount of respect in the military and even promoted him to Major General because of his success.

Although there is controversy in South Africa over whether Robert Baden-Powell was truly a hero, there is still a great amount of respect to hold for the man with so many accomplishments. Later after retiring from the military, Baden-Powell used his many books on scouting to start the international scouting movement, in which children would get a first hand experience in nature and other needed skills. Thanks to Robert Baden-Powell, there are now girl scouts and boy scouts on almost every single block. He died on January 8, 1941 and still his legacy lives on through the scouters all around the world. Robert Baden- Powell’s involvement in the creation of new programs and military achievements have truly changed the world we live in.