Juliette Magill Gordon was born in Savannah, Georgia, to William Washington Gordon II and Eleanor 'Nellie' Kinzie Gordon.
Juliette Magill Gordon, who would later become known to history as Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts of the USA, was born on October 31, 1860, in Savannah, Georgia. She was the second of six children born to William Washington Gordon II, a prosperous cotton merchant and Confederate cavalry officer, and Eleanor 'Nellie' Kinzie Gordon, whose own family had deep roots in the founding of Chicago.
Nicknamed 'Daisy' by her family—a name that would stay with her throughout her life—Juliette grew up amid the social and political upheavals of the Civil War and Reconstruction era in the American South. Her prominent family connections on both sides gave her access to education, travel, and social circles that would later prove instrumental in her founding of the Girl Scouts.
Her childhood in Savannah shaped her lifelong love of nature, animals, and creative pursuits including painting, sculpture, and writing. Despite suffering from chronic ear infections that would eventually leave her nearly completely deaf by adulthood, she developed into a spirited, resourceful, and artistically talented young woman. This early resilience in the face of physical adversity foreshadowed the determination she would later bring to building an entirely new institution for American girls.
Images
