Daniel Carter "Uncle Dan" Beard (June 21, 1850 – June 11, 1941) was an American illustrator, author, youth leader,
Georgist and social reformer who founded the
Sons of Daniel Boone
The Sons of Daniel Boone (sometimes called the Society of the Sons of Daniel Boone), later the Boy Pioneers of America, was a youth program developed by Daniel Carter Beard in 1905 based on the American frontiersman. When Dan Beard joined the Boy ...
in 1905, which Beard later merged with the
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded ...
(BSA).
Early life
Beard was born in
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, Ohio, into a family of artists.
As a youth in
Painesville
Painesville is a city in and the county seat of Lake County, Ohio, United States, located along the Grand River northeast of Cleveland. Its population was 19,563 at the 2010 census.
Painesville is the home of Lake Erie College, Morley Libra ...
, he explored the woods and made sketches of nature. His father was the artist
James Henry Beard
James Henry Beard (April 22, 1812 – October 20, 1893) was an American painter who specialized in the genre of portraits. He was elected as a member of the National Academy of Design in 1872.
Early life
Beard was born in Buffalo, New York on ...
and his mother was Mary Caroline (Carter) Beard. His uncle was the artist
William Holbrook Beard. He lived at
322 East Third Street in
Covington, Kentucky
Covington is a home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, United States, located at the confluence of the Ohio and Licking Rivers. Cincinnati, Ohio, lies to its immediate north across the Ohio and Newport, to its east across the Licking ...
near the
Licking River, where he learned the stories of
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
pioneer life.
He started an early career as an engineer and surveyor. He attended art school in New York City. He wrote a series of articles for
St. Nicholas Magazine that later formed the basis for ''
The American Boy's Handy Book''. He was a member of the Student Art League, where he met and befriended
Ernest Thompson Seton in 1883. He illustrated a number of books for
Mark Twain, and for other authors such as
Ernest Crosby.
In 1886, Daniel Carter Beard joined
Henry George
Henry George (September 2, 1839 – October 29, 1897) was an American political economist and journalist. His writing was immensely popular in 19th-century America and sparked several reform movements of the Progressive Era. He inspired the eco ...
's
Single-tax movement
Georgism, also called in modern times Geoism, and known historically as the single tax movement, is an economic ideology holding that, although people should own the value they produce themselves, the economic rent derived from land—including ...
and became a strong advocate of the Georgist philosophy. He wrote several novels about the subject (such as ''Moonblight and Six Feet of Romance'').
With
Mark Twain's approval, Beard's illustrations for
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court
''A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court'' is an 1889 novel by American humorist and writer Mark Twain. The book was originally titled ''A Yankee in King Arthur's Court''. Some early editions are titled ''A Yankee at the Court of King Art ...
were a Georgist interpretation of the story.
In 1908 while living in
Redding, Connecticut
Redding is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 8,765 at the 2020 census.
History
Early settlement and establishment
At the time colonials began receiving grants for land within the boundaries of present- ...
, Beard was among those on hand to welcome
Mark Twain upon his arrival to the author's new villa
Stormfield
Stormfield was the mansion built in Redding, Connecticut for author Samuel Clemens, best known as Mark Twain, who lived there from 1908 until his death in 1910. He derived the property's name from the short story "Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heav ...
.
Beard became the editor of ''Recreation'' magazine and wrote a monthly column for youth. He founded the
Sons of Daniel Boone
The Sons of Daniel Boone (sometimes called the Society of the Sons of Daniel Boone), later the Boy Pioneers of America, was a youth program developed by Daniel Carter Beard in 1905 based on the American frontiersman. When Dan Beard joined the Boy ...
in 1905, basing it on American frontier traditions. He later moved his column to ''
Woman's Home Companion
''Woman's Home Companion'' was an American monthly magazine, published from 1873 to 1957. It was highly successful, climbing to a circulation peak of more than four million during the 1930s and 1940s. The magazine, headquartered in Springfield, O ...
''. After conflicts with a new editor, he moved to the ''
Pictorial Review
The ''Pictorial Review'' was an American women's magazine published from 1899 to 1939.
Based in New York, the ''Pictorial Review'' was first published in September 1899. The magazine was originally designed to showcase dress patterns of German i ...
''. Since ''Women's Home Companion'' retained the rights to the name, he simply renamed the organization to ''Boy Pioneers of America''.
Scouting
![Scouting pioneers](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/Scouting_pioneers.jpg)
Beard merged his organization into the
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded ...
when it was founded in 1910. Beard became one of the first
National Scout commissioners of the Boy Scouts and served it for 30 years. He later became the editor of ''
Boys' Life
''Scout Life'' (formerly ''Boys' Life'') is the monthly magazine of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Its target readers are boys and girls between the ages of 6 and 18. The magazine‘s headquarters are in Irving, Texas.
''Scout Life'' is pu ...
'' magazine, the BSA official magazine, and wrote a monthly column for youth. The work of both Beard and
Ernest Thompson Seton are in large part the basis of the
Traditional Scouting
Traditional Scouting is "old-fashioned" or "back to basics" Scouting in some form, often with an emphasis on woodcraft and scoutcraft activities. As a pluralist movement, there is no one set definition for the term, but most traditionalists share ...
movement.
Beard also helped his sister organize the
Camp Fire Girls
Camp Fire, formerly Camp Fire USA and originally Camp Fire Girls of America, is a co-ed youth development organization. Camp Fire was the first nonsectarian, multicultural organization for girls in America. It is gender inclusive, and its prog ...
. Beard was a
Freemason, initiated in the Mariners Lodge No. 67 (
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
).
An award for Masonic Scouters has been named in his honor.
Beard founded Boy Scout Troop 1 in
Flushing, New York
Flushing is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the New York City borough of Queens. The neighborhood is the fourth-largest central business district in New York City. Downtown Flushing is a major commercial and retail area, and the i ...
, which is believed to be one of the
oldest continuously chartered Boy Scout Troops in the United States. He became an
Eagle Scout
Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle S ...
at the age of 64 on February 15, 1915.
![Daniel Carter Beard 1937](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Daniel_Carter_Beard_1937.jpg)
Prior to the establishment of the
Distinguished Eagle Scout Award
The Distinguished Eagle Scout Award (DESA) is a distinguished service award of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). It is awarded to an Eagle Scout for distinguished service in his profession and to his community for a period of at least 25 years aft ...
, Dan Beard was recipient of the only "gold Eagle badge" awarded at the Second National Training Conference of Scout Executives held in 1922 in Blue Ridge, North Carolina.
Dan Beard was also involved with the
Culver Academies' summer camp program for many years, which used his "Sons of Daniel Boone" program. This program still exists as the Academy's Culver Woodcraft Camp.
Beard died on June 11, 1941, ten days before his 91st birthday, at his home Brooklands in
Suffern, New York
Suffern is a village that was incorporated in 1796 in the town of Ramapo in Rockland County, New York. Suffern is located 31 miles northwest of Manhattan. As of the 2010 census, Suffern's population was 10,723.[Spring Valley, New York
Spring Valley is a village in the towns of Ramapo and Clarkstown in Rockland County, New York, United States. It is located north of Chestnut Ridge, east of Airmont and Monsey, south of Hillcrest, and west of Nanuet. The population was 33, ...]
. The National Program Director of the Boy Scouts of America,
E. Urner Goodman, was selected to be in charge of the beloved youth leader's funeral in Suffern. An estimated 2,000 people lined the funeral route to the cemetery in
Monsey, New York
Monsey (, yi, מאנסי, translit=Monsi) is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States, located north of Airmont, east of Viola, south of New Hempstead, and west of Spring Valley. The ...
, where 127 Boy Scouts formed an honor guard and assisted with traffic control.
Honors and legacy
The
Daniel Carter Beard Bridge
The Daniel Carter Beard Bridge (also known colloquially as the Big Mac Bridge), is a yellow twin span steel bowstring arch bridge crossing the Ohio River in Cincinnati, Ohio. It carries Interstate 471 between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Newport, Kent ...
carries
I-471 across the
Ohio River. A life-size bronze statue of Daniel Carter Beard and a Boy Scout, created by world-renowned sculptor Kenneth Bradford, stands at 322 East 3rd Street in
Covington, Kentucky
Covington is a home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, United States, located at the confluence of the Ohio and Licking Rivers. Cincinnati, Ohio, lies to its immediate north across the Ohio and Newport, to its east across the Licking ...
, Beard's boyhood home. The nearby
Daniel Carter Beard Boyhood Home is now a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
in the
Riverside Drive Historic District.
Junior High School 189 Daniel Carter Beard is located in
Flushing, Queens, New York; the Daniel Carter Beard Mall is a nearby park. The Daniel Carter Beard Elementary School is located in Chicago, Illinois.
The
Dan Beard Council is the administrative body of the BSA in the Greater Cincinnati area.
Many Scout camps have sites named after Beard including
Philmont Scout Ranch
Philmont Scout Ranch is a ranch located in Colfax County, New Mexico, near the village of Cimarron; it covers of wilderness in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains on the east side of the Cimarron Range of the Rocky Mountains. Donated by oil baro ...
in New Mexico,
Forestburg Scout Reservation
Monmouth Council, BSA, established in 1917, serves all of Monmouth County, New Jersey and part of Middlesex County, New Jersey. The Council was the starting point for the landmark US Supreme Court case '' Boy Scouts of America v. Dale''.
Organizat ...
in Forestburg, New York and
Broad Creek Memorial Scout Reservation
Broad Creek Memorial Scout Reservation, more commonly called just Broad Creek, is the sum of eight separate areas in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. The reservation is from the Maryland and Pennsylvania border within Harford County, from the Mary ...
in Maryland and Tama Hills in
Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
. Other camps have programs named after Beard, such as the first-year camper program at
McKee Scout Reservation in Kentucky.
The Forest Preserves of Cook County, Illinois, has long had a campground calle
Camp Dan Beard
Freemasons in the U.S. offer the Daniel Carter Beard Masonic Scouter Award for Masons who are involved with Scouting. The BSA offers the
James E. West Fellowship Award; an advanced level is the 1910 Society which in turn includes levels of contributions—the Daniel Carter Beard is recognized for a gift of at least $100,000.
Mount Dan Beard, a peak in the
Alaska Range
The Alaska Range is a relatively narrow, 600-mile-long (950 km) mountain range in the southcentral region of the U.S. state of Alaska, from Lake Clark at its southwest endSources differ as to the exact delineation of the Alaska Range. ThBoar ...
near
Denali
Denali (; also known as Mount McKinley, its former official name) is the highest mountain peak in North America, with a summit elevation of above sea level. With a topographic prominence of and a topographic isolation of , Denali is the th ...
in
Denali National Park and Preserve
Denali National Park and Preserve, formerly known as Mount McKinley National Park, is an American national park and preserve located in Interior Alaska, centered on Denali, the highest mountain in North America. The park and contiguous preserve ...
, is named after Beard.
Works
![Connecticut Yankee4](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Connecticut_Yankee4.jpg)
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A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
''A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court'' is an 1889 novel by American humorist and writer Mark Twain. The book was originally titled ''A Yankee in King Arthur's Court''. Some early editions are titled ''A Yankee at the Court of King Arth ...
'' by Mark Twain, (1889), illustrator
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The American Claimant'' by Mark Twain, (1892), illustrator
* contributing illustrator
See also
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Scouting memorials
References
External links
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Info on Daniel Beard Masonic Scouter Awardfull text
DANIEL CARTER BEARD MALLFull text of ''The American Boy's Book of Signs, Signals and Symbols'' J.B. Lippincott Company, 1918.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beard, Daniel Carter
National Commissioners of the Boy Scouts of America
American children's writers
Writers from Cincinnati
Artists from Cincinnati
People from Covington, Kentucky
Scouting pioneers
1850 births
1941 deaths
People from Suffern, New York
Writers from Kentucky
Artists from Kentucky
American social reformers
American magazine editors
People from Redding, Connecticut
Georgists