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Definition: Cody, William F(rederick) from Chambers Biographical Dictionary

known as

Buffalo Bill

1846-1917

US showman

Born in Scott County, Iowa, he became an army scout and pony express rider. He earned his nickname after killing nearly 5,000 buffalo for a contract to supply meat to the workers on the Kansas Pacific Railway (1867-68). He served as a scout in the Sioux wars, but from 1883 toured with his own Wild West Show. The town of Cody in Wyoming is situated on part of his ranch.

Buffalo Bill

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
1846–1917, American plainsman, scout, and showman, b. near Davenport, Iowa. His real name was William Frederick Cody. His family moved (1854) to Kansas, and after the death of his father (1857) he set out to earn the family living, working for supply trains and a freighting company. In 1859 he went to the Colorado gold fields and he claimed, apparently falsely, to have ridden for the pony express in 1860. His adventures on the Western frontier as an army scout and later as a buffalo hunter for railroad construction camps on the Great Plains were the basis for the stories later told about him. On his first visit to the East in 1872, Ned Buntline persuaded him to appear on the New York stage, and, except for a brief period of scouting against the Sioux and Cheyenne in 1876, he was from that time on connected with show business. In 1883 he organized Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show and toured with it for many years throughout the United States and Europe. Wyoming granted him a stock ranch, …
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Full text Article Buffalo Bill

From The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature
American folk hero, in reality William F. Cody (1846–1917), a rider for the Pony Express and a frontier scout during the Civil War. In 1869 he became acquainted with Edward Zane Carroll Judson (1823–86), an author of *dime novels , who began to write ‘Buffalo Bill’ stories about Cody's exploits…
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Full text Article Buffalo Bill

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
1846–1917, American plainsman, scout, and showman, b. near Davenport, Iowa. His real name was William Frederick Cody. His family moved (1854) to Kansas, and after the death of his father (1857) he set out to earn the family living, working for supply trains and a freighting company. In 1859 he went…
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Full text Article CODY, BUFFALO BILL

From The Reader's Companion to American History
(1846-1917), western scout and showman. Anyone interested in the history of the American West must eventually reckon with the life and legacy of William F., “Buffalo Bill,” Cody. A master of show business, Cody confirmed American and European audiences in their conviction that the real West was a…
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Full text Article Buffalo Bill's Wild West Flyer

From Milestone Visual Documents in American History: The Images, Cartoons, and Other Visual Sources that Shaped America
Poster advertising Buffalo Bill's Wild West...
Author/Creator Courier Lithographic Co. Date c. 1899 Image Type Flyers Significance A poster advertising Buffalo Bill's Wild West , a show that created and fostered perceptions of the Old West in the late nineteenth century and beyond Overview William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody (1846-1917) began his…
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Full text Article Buffalo Bill

From Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable
William Frederick Cody (1847–1917) earned this name from hunting the buffalo to provide meat for the labourers constructing the Kansas Pacific Railway in 1876–8. He is held to have killed 4280 buffalo in 18 months. He was born in Iowa and, when little more than a boy, was a rider of the pony express…
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Buffalo Bill's (1864-1917) Navajo Ally, cover illustration from 'Buffalo Bill Stories', c.1890 (colour litho)
Artist: American School, (19th century) Location: Private Collection Credit: Buffalo Bill's (1864-1917) Navajo Ally, cover illustration from 'Buffalo Bill Stories', c.1890 (colour litho), American School, (19th century) / Private Collection / Peter Newark American Pictures / The Bridgeman Art…
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Full text Article Buffalo Bill

From The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Houghton Mifflin
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Full text Article Cody, “Buffalo Bill” (William)

From The Great American History Fact-Finder
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Full text Article Buffalo Bill Cody (1846-1917) (photo)

From Bridgeman Images: Peter Newark American Pictures
Buffalo Bill Cody (1846-1917) (photo)
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Full text Article Buffalo Bill

From The Macquarie Dictionary
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