Eagle Scout rank
From MeritBadgeDotOrg
![]() | The Eagle Scout rank requirements were revised effective January 1, 2008. |
Eagle Scout Rank | |||||
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The Eagle Scout Rank is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America. Since its introduction in 1911, the Eagle Scout Rank has been earned by more than 1.7 million young men. The title of "Eagle Scout" is held for life, thus giving rise to the phrase "Once an Eagle, always an Eagle".
Requirements include earning a number of merit badges and demonstrating Scout spirit, service, and leadership. This includes an extensive service project that the Scout plans, organizes, leads, and manages. Eagle Scouts are presented with a medal and a badge that visibly recognizes the accomplishments of the Scout. Additional recognition can be earned through Eagle Palms, awarded for completing additional tenure, leadership, and merit badge requirements.
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Eagle Scout rank requirements | ![]() | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Footnotes
View the change list (history) of these requirements. The text of these requirements may be locked. In that case, they can only be edited by an administrator. Please note any errors found in the above requirements on this article's Talk Page. |
Help with these requirements
- Trail To Eagle — official BSA web site
- Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project Workbook, No. 18-927E — (2007 Edition) The workbook can be downloaded in
DOC
,RTF
, orPDF
formats. - Eagle Scout Rank Application, No. 58-728A
PDF
(114 KB)(2008 Edition)
History
The BSA's highest award was originally conceived of as the Wolf Scout, as shown in the June 1911 Official Handbook for Boys. The August 1911 handbook subsequently changed this to Eagle Scout. The medal illustrated in the handbook was a profile of an eagle in flight, but was changed to the current design before any were issued. In their original conceptions, Life Scout, Star Scout (Life preceded Star until 1924) and Eagle Scout were not ranks, but part of the merit badge system that recognized Scouts who had earned a specified number of merit badges. Eagle Scout was awarded to any First Class Scout who had earned 21 merit badges. Consequently, eight of the first nine Eagle Scouts did not earn the ranks of Life or Star.
The first Eagle Scout medal was awarded in 1912 to Arthur Rose Eldred, a 17-year-old member of Troop 1 of Rockville Centre, Long Island, New York. Eldred was notified that he was to be awarded the rank of Eagle Scout in a letter from Chief Scout Executive James West, dated August 21, 1912. The design of the Eagle Scout medal had not been finalized by the National Council, so the medal was not awarded until Labor Day, September 2, 1912. Eldred was the first of three generations of Eagle Scouts; his son and grandson hold the rank as well. Since then, more than 1.7 million Scouts have earned the rank. In 1982, 13-year-old Alexander Holsinger, of Normal, Illinois, was recognized as the one-millionth Eagle Scout.
A total of 1,835,410 Scouts have earned Eagle Scout as of the end of 2005; out of 83,486,083 Scouts since 1911, this is about 2 percent of the Boy Scouting membership. In 2005, 49,895 Eagle Scout awards were presented, about 5 percent of the 2005 membership. There are four known Nobel Prize laureates who are Eagle Scouts: Dudley R. Herschbach, Peter Agre, Robert Coleman Richardson, and Frederick Reines. One President of the United States (and one Vice-President), President Ford, was an Eagle Scout.[1]
See also
![]() | Boy Scout portal |
External links
Official BSA links
- National Eagle Scout Association (NESA) — official BSA web site
- U.S. Army Certificate of Recognition for Eagle Scouts
Other links
- EagleScout.org — "Providing tools and information for Scouts on the journey toward Eagle rank and the faithful Scouters supporting them!"
- Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project Planning Guide
- Service and Eagle Scout Projects
- All BSA Eagle Scout Requirements since 1911
Scout • Tenderfoot • Second Class • First Class • Star • Life • Eagle Scout • Eagle Palms
Program-level awards: Venturing Award • Discovery Award • Pathfinder Award • Summit Award
Expert-level awards: Quest Award • TRUST Award • Ranger Award
Boy Scouting ranks: Advancement for Venturers • Star Rank • Life Rank • Eagle Scout Rank Award
Boy Scouting ranks: Scout badge • Tenderfoot • Second Class • First Class • Star Scout • Life Scout • Eagle Scout Award
Varsity Scouting awards: Varsity Scout Letter • Denali Award