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Birthplace
She was born Juliette Magill Kinzie Gordon to parents William Washington Gordon and Eleanor Kinzie Gordon. She was the second of six children in the family. Juliette was born in the house pictured in Savannah, Georgia. -
Juliette was a child during the Civil War. Her father served as a Captain in the Confederate army. She lived through 3 wars during the course of her lifetime!
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Juliette was a child during the Civil War. Her father served as a Captain in the Confederate army.
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As a child Juliette was nicknamed "Daisy" by her family and friends. She was interested in the arts; she enjoyed painting, acting in plays, and writing poems. Daisy also enjoyed playing tennis and swimming.
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Stuart HallWhen she was 13, Daisy when to boarding school at Virginia Female Institute in Staunton, VA (now called Stuart Hall).
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After Daisy finished her studies at Virginia Female Institute, she attended Mesdemoiselles Charbonniers (a French finishing school) in New York City. Finishing schools taught well-to-do women social and cultural skills and primary prepared them for marriage.
Most women at this time, married, had children and never worked outside the home (especially well-to-do families like the Lows). Juliette wanted something else bigger for her life though... -
When she was 25 she got a bad ear infection. The doctor treated it with silver nitrate and as a result she lost partial hearing in this ear.
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On this day she married William MacKay Low, a wealthy Englishman, in her hometown of Savannah, Georgia. At her wedding she got a piece of rice lodged in her good ear. It pierced her eardrum and as a result she lost total hearing in that ear. After her wedding she spent most of her time at her husband's estate in Great Britain.
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war
She moved back to America to help with the war effort. She worked with her mother a hosipital for convalescent soliders returning from Cuba. -
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Her husband died in 1905. At the time they were going through the process of getting a divorce.
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Juliette met Sir Robert Baden-Powell, the founder of Boy Scouts and Girl Guides in England. This meeting was her inspiration to create Girl Scouts of America. It was said that she was always looking for a deeper meaning for her life and at age 51 she finally found it!
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Girl Scout InformationEarlier in the year she called her cousin and famously reported, "I've got something for the girls of Savannah, and all of America, and all the world, and we're going to start it tonight". There were 18 girls who showed up for the first meeting in Savannah, GA. "The mission of Girl Scouts is to build girls of courage, confidence, character, who make the world a better place."
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Juliette changed the name from Girl Guides to Girl Scouts. During this time she also drafted the Girl Scout Laws and helped to write the Girl Scout Handbook "How Girls Can Help Their Country".
During this time, women still did not have the same rights or powers as men did in society. Girl Scouts worked to show girls how they were important and could make a difference for their community or country. -
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During WWI she started this world association in order for the girls around the world to feel more connected during this time of war.
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Juliette resigned as her role of President of the Girl Scouts and assumed the role of Founder.
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This amendment gave women the right to vote.
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She organized and hosted the International Encampment in New York of Girl Scouts and Guides. Over 30 countries were represented.
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biography
She died at the age of 66. She was buried in her Girl Scout uniform in Savannah at the Laurel Grove Cementary. At the time of her death, there were already 168,000 Girl Scouts in the US. -
During WWII a liberty ship was named in her honor the SS Juliette Low.
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President Harry Truman signed a bill to make a stamp in her honor.
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Hall of Fame She was inducted to the National Women's Hall of Fame.
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Girl Scouts
Since the inception of Girl Scouts, 100 years ago, more than 59 million girls in the US have been members. Information gathered from the Girl Scouts website: www.girlscouts.org
