Juliette Daisy Gordon Low Biography

Juliette “Daisy” Gordon Low

Low came from a prominent Savannah, Georgia, family. After being educated at private boarding schools in Virginia and New York, Low spent many years traveling the world. She and William Low married in 1886 and lived in England for most of their marriage. Low, who was already partially deaf in one ear, lost nearly all of her hearing in the other ear shortly after her wedding. In 1911 Low met Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of England's Boy Scouts and Girl Guides, who inspired her to organize her own troops of Girl Guides. She formed two groups in London and one in Scotland before returning to the United States.

Low established first U.S. troop of Girl Guides in Savannah in 1912. The organization proliferated, and its name was changed to the Girl Scouts of America in 1913, the same year Low opened its national headquarters in Washington, D.C. Girl Scouts of America was incorporated in 1915, and Low was elected president. She retired in 1920. At the time of her death in 1927, there were more than 165,000 Girls Scouts in the United States. Today there are about 10 million Girl Scouts worldwide.