Cody, William Frederick (1846-1917)

US showman William Frederick Cody, better known as Buffalo Bill, in 1903. Cody earned his nickname as a result of killing several thousand buffalo in eight months to feed workers on the Kansas Pacific Railway, but it was his Wild West Show, travelling all over the USA and Europe, which made him a national figure.

US scout and performer. From 1883 he toured the USA and Europe with a Wild West show which featured the recreation of Indian attacks and, for a time, the cast included Chief Sitting Bull as well as Annie Oakley. His nickname derives from a time when he had a contract to supply buffalo carcasses to railway labourers (over 4,000 in 18 months).

Cody was born in Scott County, Iowa. In the 1860s he was one of the chief riders for the Pony Express. During the Civil War he acted as a scout for the Northern troops operating in the Midwest. He was a heavy drinker and a trusting investor; he died in poverty after seeing his exploits recounted and exaggerated in novels of the West.