Dates

• Existence: 13 August 1860 - 3 November 1926

Biography

Phoebe Ann Mosey aka Annie Oakley was an American sharpshooter who starred in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show.

Annie was born on 13 August 1860 in Ohio, USA. she had a tough upbringing riddled by personal loss, poverty and abuse. Before she was seven years old, she was already hunting to feed her family and by the time she was eight she was shooting. Her shooting skills were such that she started to sell her kill to restaurants and hotels and by the time she was fifteen she has managed to pay the family’s mortgage.

In c1881 the Baughman & Butler shooting act arrived in the area, as it was customary, they challenged any locals to a shooting contest with marksman Frank E. Butler (1847–1926). The publicity stunt however backfired when Annie was put forward for the challenge and beat Frank. The couple married a year later and started to perform together. By 1885 they were working with Buffalo Bill Wild West Show, where Annie eventually became a leading act and the best pay member of the troupe after Buffalo Bill himself.

Annie travelled around the world with the Buffalo Bill show, achieving international acclaim and performing in front of European royalty including Queen Victoria, King Umberto I of Italy and German Kaiser Wilhelm II. Annie was also the star of one of Edison’s earliest short films, shot at Black Maria studio in 1894.

In 1901 Annie was badly hurt in a train accident and she was forced to leave the Buffalo Bill show and she started to tour in The Western Girl a play written about her career. She was also very interested in empowering women and worked as an instructor in marksmanship, believing strongly in female self-defense. She also promoted the service of women in combat operations for the United States armed forces.

Annie continued to set records into her sixties and started to engage in extensive philanthropy for women's rights and other causes.

Annie’s health declined in 1925 and she died of pernicious anemia at the age of 66 on 3 November 1926.

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