Famous Americans Who Were Boy Scouts

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By Grant Suneson Published
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Famous Americans Who Were Boy Scouts

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The organization known as Boy Scouts of America is more than a century old. Any youth boy or girl in the country can join one of its five scouting programs: Cub Scouting, Venturing, Sea Scouting, Exploring, and now the Scouts BSA Program.

The Boy Scouts of America’s mission is helping to “prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes” by instilling them with key values from an early age.

Many political leaders, businessmen, celebrities, and scientists were scouts in their early years. Five presidents — John F. Kennedy, Gerald Ford, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama — were Boy Scouts. (Here are 44 Republicans and 46 Democrats who have made a career out of serving in the House of Representatives.)

24/7 Tempo reviewed media sources, including the Boy Scouts of America’s publication Scouting Magazine, to determine some of the most famous people who were Boy Scouts.

These are 50 famous people who were boy scouts

Keystone Features / Getty Images

1. Alfred Kinsey
> Known as: Scientist, researcher

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2. Andy Griffith
> Known as: Actor

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3. Bill Clinton
> Known as: President

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4. Bill Gates
> Known as: Microsoft co-founder

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5. Buzz Aldrin
> Known as: Astronaut

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6. Chan Gailey
> Known as: Football coach

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7. Charles Dolan
> Known as: Cablevision founder

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8. Chris Pratt
> Known as: Actor

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9. Clive Cussler
> Known as: Novelist

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10. Dan Reynolds
> Known as: Imagine Dragons lead singer

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11. David Lynch
> Known as: Filmmaker

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12. Donald Rumsfeld
> Known as: Politician

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13. Dr. James Andrews
> Known as: Surgeon

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14. Ewing Kauffman
> Known as: Former Kansas City Royals owner

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15. George Strait
> Known as: Musician

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16. George Takei
> Known as: Actor

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17. George W. Bush
> Known as: President

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18. Gerald Ford
> Known as: President

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19. Hank Aaron
> Known as: Baseball player

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20. Harrison Ford
> Known as: Actor

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21. Jack Black
> Known as: Actor

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22. James Valentine
> Known as: Maroon 5 guitarist

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23. Jay Leno
> Known as: Comedian, TV host

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24. Jimmy Buffett
> Known as: Musician

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25. Jimmy Stewart
> Known as: Actor

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26. Joe Theismann
> Known as: Football player

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27. John F. Kennedy
> Known as: President

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Christopher Polk / Getty Images

28. John Lithgow
> Known as: Actor

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29. John Wayne
> Known as: Actor

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30. L. Ron Hubbard
> Known as: Novelist, founder of Scientology

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31. Mark Spitz
> Known as: Olympic swimmer

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32. Martin Luther King Jr.
> Known as: Civil rights activist

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33. Michael Bloomberg
> Known as: Businessman, Mayor

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34. Michael Jordan
> Known as: Basketball player

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35. Michael Moore
> Known as: Filmmaker

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36. Mike Rowe
> Known as: TV host

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37. Neil Armstrong
> Known as: Astronaut

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Jonathan Daniel / Getty Images

38. Nolan Ryan
> Known as: Baseball player

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39. Philo T. Farnsworth
> Known as: Inventor of the television

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Alex Wong / Getty Images

40. Rex Tillerson
> Known as: former secretary of state, former CEO of ExxonMobil

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41. Richard Gere
> Known as: Actor

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42. Rob Corddry
> Known as: Actor

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43. Ross Perot
> Known as: Businessman

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44. Sam Walton
> Known as: Walmart founder

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45. Stephen Breyer
> Known as: Supreme Court Justice

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46. Steve Young
> Known as: Football player

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47. Steven Spielberg
> Known as: Filmmaker

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48. Tommy Lasorda
> Known as: Baseball manager

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49. Walter Cronkite
> Known as: Journalist

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Frazer Harrison / Getty Images

50. Zach Galifianakis
> Known as: Actor, comedian

Photo of Grant Suneson
About the Author Grant Suneson →

Grant Suneson is a senior editor at 24/7 Wall St. He was previously a digital content creator at Newsy and a reporter at NPR member station KBIA, where he contributed to their Edward R. Murrow Award-winning coverage. He graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in journalism.

Grant’s work has been published and referenced in many major outlets such as MSN, USA Today, Yahoo Finance, Detroit Free Press, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Austin American-Statesman, The Tennessean, The Cincinnati Enquirer, The Indianapolis Star, The Clarion-Ledger, WSB-TV, Des Moines Register, Asbury Park Press, KMGH-TV, and many others.

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