William Dickson Boyce, an American
newspaper man, entrepreneur, magazine publisher, and explorer, was the founder of the
Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and the short-lived
Lone Scouts of America (LSA). Born in
Plum Township, Pennsylvania, he acquired a love for the outdoors early in his life. Boyce attended
Wooster Academy in Ohio before moving to the
Midwest and Canada. Boyce established several newspapers. With his first wife, Mary Jane Beacom, he moved to Chicago to pursue his
entrepreneurial ambitions. There he established the Mutual Newspaper Publishing Company and the weekly
Saturday Blade, which catered to a rural audience and was distributed by thousands of newspaper boys. With his novel employment of newsboys to boost newspaper sales, Boyce's namesake publishing company maintained a circulation of 500,000 copies per week by 1894. Boyce strongly supported worker rights, as demonstrated by his businesses' support of
labor unions and his maintenance of his newsboys'
well-being. By the early years of the 20th century, Boyce had become a multi-millionaire and had taken a step back from his businesses to pursue his interests in civic affairs, devoting more time to traveling and participating in expeditions. Boyce led expeditions to South America, Europe, and North Africa, where he visited the newly discovered
tomb of
King Tutankhamun. Boyce learned about
Scouting while passing through London. On his return to the United States, he formed the BSA. From its start, After clashing over the Scouting program with
Chief Scout Executive James E. West, he split from the BSA and founded the LSA in January 1915, which catered to rural boys who had limited opportunities to form a troop or a patrol. In June 1924, a merger was completed between the BSA and the struggling LSA. Boyce received many awards and memorials for his efforts in the U.S. Scouting movement, including the
Silver Buffalo Award.
The
Chicago Theatre is a famous
theater landmark located on North
State Street in the
Loop community area in the city of
Chicago in
Cook County,
Illinois,
United States. The theater is host to
stage plays,
magic shows,
comedy performances,
speeches, and
concerts. Although it now emphasizes live performances of popular music, it once served as a
motion picture theatre. For several decades, it was the city's premier movie theater. The building was added to the
National Register of Historic Places on June 6, 1979, and it was listed as a
Chicago Landmark on January 28, 1983. The
marquee is a Chicago cultural and physical landmark that commonly appears in
film,
television, artwork, and
photography.
