William Frederick Cody a.k.a Buffalo Bill, was born on February 26 1846 in Scott-County in Iowa and died on January 10 1917 in Denver, Colorado.

Buffalo Bill’s father died when William was eleven years old.

In 1860 he worked for the Pony Express.

When he was eighteen years old he entered the7th Regiment of the Volunteers of Kansas during the Civil War.

When the war was finished he became a Scout

the Indians nicknamed him Chief with long hair

In 1883, he created the famous “Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show”, a big circus parade with trick riding, parades of cowboys and Indians, recreations of famous battles, attacks on covered wagons, Pony Express, etc. His troupe included over 800 people, with 180 horses and 18 buffalos. Four years later, he went to Britain and his show was seen by Queen Victoria. In 1905, he came back in Europe for a big tour, it was very popular (3 million spectators for his show near the Eiffel Tower). On June 1905, his big circus stayed four days in Rouen on the “côte Sainte Catherine”.

But competition from other Wild West shows led him to bankruptcy. His last performance was in 1913.

Nobody knows if Buffalo Bill ever killed 4,280 buffaloes in a year. But he created the myth of the Wild West and became an american legend still present today in the cinema… and in Disneyland too !