Annie Oakley
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Annie Oakley was a pioneer of sexual equality and a star performer in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. Follow her life from a poor childhood to a woman of mythic status who was depicted in movies and musicals as a woman to be reckoned with.
Annie Oakley
born: 13-08-1860
birth place: Ohio, USA
died: 03-11-1926
Annie Oakley was born Phoebe Moses, to a poor Quaker family. Her father died when she was six. As a child she was known for her shooting skills, helping to support her family, by selling game to local shops and restaurants. She was so successful that she was able to repay the entire mortgage on the family farm.
Her fame spread and, in 1875, she was invited to participate in a shooting contest in Cincinnati, against the well known marksman Frank E Butler. He is reported to have laughed when he heard about his opponent. Annie, however, won the contest.
Annie Oakley and Frank fell in love and were married in 1876. They began a touring demonstration of their shooting skills, and Annie adopted her famous stage name. For the next couple of years, the Butlers travelled across the country, giving shooting exhibitions with their dog, George, as an integral part of the act.
The two sharp shooter stars joined up with Buffalo Bill and his Wild West Show in 1885. Annie is associated with the ‘Wild West’ to this day, although in reality she came from a farming family. Frank became her manager and they travelled throughout America and Europe for seventeen years with the Wild West Show, of which Annie quickly became the star. She also befriended Sitting Bull, who symbolically adopted her and named her ‘Little Sure Shot’.
In addition, Annie Oakley did sharp shooter exhibitions for Union Metallic Cartridge Company, appeared in an early film, and cheered American troops during World War I. In her later years, the couple retired to Maryland, where they lived comfortably. Both Frank and Annie died in 1926.
born: 13-08-1860
birth place: Ohio, USA
died: 03-11-1926
Annie Oakley was born Phoebe Moses, to a poor Quaker family. Her father died when she was six. As a child she was known for her shooting skills, helping to support her family, by selling game to local shops and restaurants. She was so successful that she was able to repay the entire mortgage on the family farm.
Her fame spread and, in 1875, she was invited to participate in a shooting contest in Cincinnati, against the well known marksman Frank E Butler. He is reported to have laughed when he heard about his opponent. Annie, however, won the contest.
Annie Oakley and Frank fell in love and were married in 1876. They began a touring demonstration of their shooting skills, and Annie adopted her famous stage name. For the next couple of years, the Butlers travelled across the country, giving shooting exhibitions with their dog, George, as an integral part of the act.
The two sharp shooter stars joined up with Buffalo Bill and his Wild West Show in 1885. Annie is associated with the ‘Wild West’ to this day, although in reality she came from a farming family. Frank became her manager and they travelled throughout America and Europe for seventeen years with the Wild West Show, of which Annie quickly became the star. She also befriended Sitting Bull, who symbolically adopted her and named her ‘Little Sure Shot’.
In addition, Annie Oakley did sharp shooter exhibitions for Union Metallic Cartridge Company, appeared in an early film, and cheered American troops during World War I. In her later years, the couple retired to Maryland, where they lived comfortably. Both Frank and Annie died in 1926.
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