William Dickson "
W. D."
Boyce (June 16, 1858 – June 11, 1929) was an American newspaper man, entrepreneur, magazine publisher, and explorer. He was the founder of the
Boy Scouts of America (BSA) and the short-lived
Lone Scouts of America (LSA). Born in
Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, he acquired a love for the outdoors early in his life. After working as a schoolteacher and a coal miner, Boyce attended
Wooster Academy in Ohio before moving to the
Midwest and Canada. An astute businessman, Boyce successfully established several newspapers, such as
The Commercial in
Winnipeg,
Manitoba and the
Lisbon Clipper in
Lisbon, North Dakota. 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 concern for his newsboys'
well-being.