About William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody

William F. “Buffalo Bill” Cody was born in LeClaire, Iowa, in 1846. His family moved to Leavenworth, Kansas. When William was 11 years old, his father died and he became the main support of his family.  He left home to work as a “teamster” – driving a wagon train across the Great Plains.   He went on to fur trapping and gold mining, then rode for the Pony Express. He became an Army scout and after the Civil War, Cody gained the nickname “Buffalo Bill” as a hunter providing meat for the railroad workers.

But Buffalo Bill didn’t become famous until he met Ned Buntline, a dime novelist, who transformed his life into a series of larger-than-life stories.   The legend that grew around William Cody led to a series of popular “shows” where he depicted life in the “Wild West”. 

Buffalo Bill toured the world with his outdoor extravaganza eventually known simply as “The Wild West Show”.  His show is credited with depicting and defining America’s West for the rest of the world.  He presented his show in over 1400 communities all across America and Europe.  During his lifetime, Buffalo Bill became the most recognizable person on the planet.  It is estimated that from 1875 to 1917, at least 10 million people attended Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.