Do you know Juliette Gordon Low?

Juliette Magill Kinzie Gordon was born in Savannah, GA, on October 31, 1860. Nicknamed Daisy by an uncle, who said she looked like a Daisy, she retained that nickname throughout her life.

Juliette’s father served in the Confederate Army, and the family took in relatives, which strained the family’s resources. Her Northern grandparents sent packets of food to assist the family. After the surrender of Savannah, GA, during the Civil War, Juliette and her family traveled to Chicago to stay with her maternal grandparents, Juliette Magill Kinzie and John Harris Kinzie. Mr. Kinzie was well known in Chicago and very politically active. Their home was on the north bank of the Chicago River across from Fort Dearborn.

Juliette Magill Kinzie wrote the book Wau-Bun which described their life in Portage, WI, where John served as the Indian subagent at Fort Winnebago.

As a young girl, Juliette enjoyed artistic pursuits – writing, drawing, painting – and, at sixteen, created the Helping Hands Club, a sewing club that made clothing for the less fortunate in Savannah. She was brought up to be a proper Southern lady, Juliette attended boarding school in Virginia and finished school in New York City. 

An infection in her ear led to partial deafness when she was just 25 years old.

In December of 1886, she married William (Willie) Mackay Low. At the wedding, guests threw rice as a good-luck tradition, and a grain of rice got lodged in her ear and left her with total hearing loss.

Beginning in 1887, Juliette and Willie traveled to England and spent many years entertaining and being entertained by royalty. They had homes in Warwickshire (Wellesbourne House) and Lude (Scotland). At Wellesbourne House, there were pets and horses but no children of Willie and Juliette. She loved her nieces and nephews and friend’s children, though. Juliette would invite them to visit her home and take them on adventurous trips.

Following Willie’s death in 1905, Juliette remained in England in the summer and returned to Savannah in the winter. She traveled, became a proficient sculptor, and continued to meet new friends, including Lord Baden-Powell, and the rest, as they say, is history. In 1912, Juliette started the first Girl Scout troop in Savannah, which, over the years, ignited a movement across America where every girl could unlock her full potential, find lifelong friends, and make the world a better place.

Juliette Gordon Low died from breast cancer on January 17, 1927, in Savannah, GA. She was buried in her uniform with the following note in a pocket: “You are not only the first Girl Scout but the best Girl Scout of them all.”

Juliette’s story has been told by many authors through the years. Pictured are a few of the biographies that share more of her “Crazy Daisy” antics, as well as her work to establish Girl Scouting as the premier organization for girls in the United States. In 1925, she wrote in her birthday message, “Truly ours is a circle of friendships, united by our ideals.”