Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Daniel Carter Beard worked as a surveyor in various parts of the eastern U.S., moving in 1878 to New York City, where his father and brother were professional illustrators. His drawings in Cosmopolitan attracted SLC’s attention, and he was engaged to illustrate A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1889). The resulting illustrations, SLC said in December 1889, were “better than the book.” Beard went on to illustrate SLC’s The American Claimant, Tom Sawyer Abroad, and Following the Equator. Beard also wrote several popular books for juvenile readers about outdoor life and was a pioneer in organizing youth groups for boys, culminating in the formation of the Boy Scouts of America (1910). He became known as “Uncle Dan” to American youth nationwide though his publications and appearances.