Annie Oakley
Little Sure Shot
“Aim at a high mark and you’ll hit it. No, not the first time nor the second time and maybe not the third. But keep on aiming and keep on shooting for only practice will make you perfect. Finally you will hit the bull’s eye of success” ("Home"). – Annie Oakley
Who was Annie Oakley?
Annie Oakley started her life as the fifth child in a poor family in Ohio and became one of her generation's most popular female firearm performers. She began shooting at the age of 15 to support and feed her family and soon started competing and performing for the likes of Queen Victoria with Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. She even won the heart of Chief Sitting Bull, who adopted her and gave her the name "Little Sure Shot" (WGBH).
Annie Oakley with her Guns
Key Events
1860: Born in Ohio to a poor Quaker family of 5 children.
1875: Enters first shooting competition where she meets and beats her future husband, Frank Butler.
1876: Marries Frank Butler.
1885: Joins Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show.
1901: Is injured in a train accident while on the road, causing her to retire from the Wild West Show.
1903: Engages in a long legal battle when slanderous stories are printed about her.
1911: Starts performing with the Young Bill Wild West, a competitor to Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show.
1917: Begins organizing shooting demonstrations as fundraisers for the U.S. effort in World War One.
1922: Is involved in a car accident which gives her a limp for the rest of her days.
1926: Dies in Ohio. Frank soon follows (WGBH).
Annie Leaves her Mark
Annie Oakley inspired women of her day and beyond. In 1935 a movie was created depicting her life. A decade later the Broadway musical, Annie Get Your Gun debuted. More films and a TV series followed (WGBH).
Filmed by Thomas Edison's Kinetoscope
Created by Ms. O'Kane, April 2012
