Juliette Gordon Low Commemorative Stamp

On Oct. 29, 1948, the U.S. Post Office held first-day-of-issue ceremonies in Savannah for a 3-cent commemorative stamp honoring Juliette Gordon Low. The stamp's release came two days before what would have been Low's 88th birthday.

Juliette Magill Gordon was born in Savannah on Oct. 31, 1860. During the Civil War, her father fought with Confederacy while the rest of the family stayed in Savannah. With the approach of Sherman in Dec. 1864, they left the city for Chicago. Nicknamed Daisy, Juliette attended private schools in Virginia and New York City. In 1886, she married William Low, a wealthy Englishman, and moved to England, where she studied art and associated with upper-class society. After her husband died in 1905, Juliette traveled to far away places, wrote poetry, studied sculpture, and looked for her purpose in life. In 1911, she met Robert Baden-Powell, who had recently started the Boy Scouts. Powell's sister had created a sister organization--the Girl Guides--and Low started one of the first troops in Scotland.

Low returned to Savannah and decided to start an American counterpart to the Girl Guides. On March 12, 1912, she held the first meeting of what would become known as the Girl Scouts in Savannah. The idea of a scouting organization for girls spread quickly, and by 1915, the Girl Scouts had incorporated nationally. Low died on Jan. 17, 1927 in Savannah.

Click here for more biographical information.

Go to Georgia on Stamps page

Go to GeorgiaInfo table of contents