Annie Oakley was an American sharpshooter and exhibition shooter. Her incredible talent gave her a starring role in the Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show. Her timely rise to fame helped her become one of America’s first superstars. She is also known for having received numerous awards for her marksmanship and remains even now a legendary figure of the American West.
Annie Oakley was born under the name Phoebe Ann Moses on August 13, 1860 in Darke County, Ohio. She was the sixth of seven children. Because her family was poor and her father died when she was young from pneumonia, Annie did not attend school on a regular basis as a child. She started trapping at a young age and started shooting when she was eight in order to help her family. She sold whatever game she managed to hunt to locals in Greenville and restaurants in southern Ohio. With her skill she even managed to pay the mortgage on her mother’s farm.
In a 1875 Thanksgiving shooting competition, Annie Oakley managed to beat Frank E. Butler, a top shooter, in a shooting competition. A year afterwards she married him and their union would span half a century. After Butler’s partner fell ill, they started working together professionally in 1882. It was then that she took the stage name Oakley.
She met Native-American leader Sitting Bull in 1884. The man was so impressed with her abilities that he called her “Little Sure Shot.” Oakley and Butler afterwards joined Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show in 1885. Annie Oakley dazzled with her skills. She as able to hit the thin edge of a playing card from 30 paces and even hit distant targets while looking in a mirror. She continued performing until 1913 when she retired to Cambridge, Maryland.
Annie Oakley died on November 3, 1926, in Greenville, Ohio. Her husband followed her three weeks later. Did you know that the amazing sharpshooter entertained heads of state such as Queen Victoria and Kaiser Wilhelm II?
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