Juliette Gordon Low

Hello, my name is Juliette Gordon Low, but my family and friends have always called me Daisy. I was born on a very fun day, Halloween, October 31st, 1860, in the beautiful city of Savannah, Georgia. Growing up, I was filled with a spirit of adventure. I loved creating art, exploring the wonders of nature, and writing and performing in plays for my family. My childhood took place during a difficult time in American history, the Civil War, and seeing my family's involvement taught me the importance of service and duty to others. Life brought challenges that I had to learn to overcome. A medical treatment when I was younger damaged the hearing in one of my ears. Then, at my wedding in 1886, a grain of rice thrown for good luck got stuck in my other ear, causing an infection that left me with very little hearing for the rest of my life. But I was determined not to let this stop me. I learned to adapt, to read lips, and to face the world with confidence, never allowing my hearing loss to define what I could achieve.

As a young woman, I attended boarding schools and had the chance to travel all across America and even to Europe. These experiences opened my eyes to a much wider world beyond my hometown of Savannah. After I married William Mackay Low, I moved to England to live with him. While I loved exploring new places, this time in my life was sometimes lonely, especially after we separated. After my husband passed away in 1905, I spent several years searching for a meaningful direction for my life. That all changed in 1911 when I met a remarkable man in England named Sir Robert Baden-Powell. He was a retired British army general who had founded the Boy Scouts. He believed that young people could learn to be resourceful, skilled, and good citizens by participating in outdoor activities and community service. His ideas sparked a fire in me. I was so inspired that in that same year, 1911, I started my own patrols for girls in Scotland, which were called the Girl Guides. For the first time, I felt I had discovered my true purpose: to give girls the same opportunities for adventure and growth that boys had.

I returned to America filled with excitement and a mission. One of the first things I did was make a very enthusiastic phone call to my cousin, Nina Pape, in Savannah. I told her, 'I've got something for the girls of Savannah, and all of America!' I couldn't wait to get started. That historic day came on March 12th, 1912, when I gathered eighteen girls from my community in the parlor of my home. Together, we formed the very first troop of American Girl Guides. We didn't just sit around and talk; we took action. Our activities were designed to get girls out of the house and into the world. We went camping, played basketball, and learned practical skills like first aid and astronomy. My goal was to help girls become self-reliant and prepared for whatever future they chose, whether it was as a homemaker or a professional. From the very beginning, I believed that this organization should be for all girls. It was incredibly important to me that our troops be inclusive, welcoming girls from every background and ability. This was a very forward-thinking idea for that time, and it became a core value of the movement I was building.

With the first troop established, I poured all my energy into helping the movement grow. I even used my own money, selling a valuable pearl necklace to fund the organization in its early years. In 1913, I established a national headquarters in Washington, D.C., to help organize the new troops that were forming all over the country. It was around this time that we changed our name from the American Girl Guides to the Girl Scouts. When the United States entered World War I in 1917, the Girl Scouts stepped up to serve the country. They planted 'war gardens' to grow vegetables, which helped with food shortages, and they assisted the Red Cross. Their hard work proved to everyone just how capable and resourceful girls could be. While I was serious about our mission, I also believed that a leader could have a sense of joy and fun. To show off the practical design of the new uniform hat, which wouldn't fall off easily, I would sometimes surprise people by standing on my head. It was my way of showing that we could work hard and still have fun.

Later in my life, I faced a serious illness, but I never stopped working for my beloved Girl Scouts. I lived to be 66 years old and passed away in my Savannah home on January 17th, 1927. The dream that began in my parlor with just 18 girls has since grown into a global movement that has touched the lives of millions. Today, Girl Scouts across the world continue to build courage, confidence, and character, working to make the world a better place, just as I had always hoped. My legacy lives on in every badge a girl earns, every friendship she makes, and every time she learns that she has the power to change her world for the better.