Agnes Baden-Powell

Agnes Baden-Powell
Portrait of Agnes Baden-Powell
Born	Agnes Smyth Baden-Powell (1858-12-16)16 December 1858 Paddington, London, United Kingdom
Died	2 June 1945(1945-06-02) (aged 86)

Agnes Smyth Baden-Powell (16 December 1858 – 2 June 1945) was the younger sister of Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, and was most noted for her work in establishing the Girl Guide movement as a female counterpart to her older brother's Scouting Movement. Agnes was born in Paddington, London.

Agnes was the ninth of fourteen children, and the third daughter of her father, the Reverend Baden Powell, who was the Savilian Professor of Geometry at the University of Oxford. Among her brothers were Warington Baden-Powell, Sir George Baden-Powell, Frank Baden-Powell, and Baden Baden-Powell. Her mother, Henrietta Grace Smyth, was the third wife of Rev. Baden Powell. Henrietta Grace was a gifted musician and artist, a daughter of Admiral William Henry Smyth and Annarella Warington.

When Agnes was only two years of age, the Reverend Baden Powell died. To honour him after his death, Agnes's mother Henrietta added Baden to their surname and that branch of the family has since been known as Baden-Powell.

Baden's death left the family under the firm control of Henrietta, who was determined to instill in her children a desire to succeed. Agnes' brother, Robert, has been quoted as saying, "The whole secret of my getting on lay with my mother."

Agnes went on to become an accomplished musician, playing the organ, piano and violin. Her varied interests included natural history and astronomy, and she kept bees, birds and butterflies in her home.

In April 1901 Agnes became engaged to Sir William Bisset Berry, the Speaker of the South African Parliament, but they did not marry. Some years later she became very friendly with Guglielmo Marconi.