#23: Annie Oakley

There have been multiple famous plays and movies made about Annie Oakley over the years. Many of us often forget that she was a real person who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Annie Oakley really was a master markswoman, wowing audiences in “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West” variety show for many years. 

Annie’s markswoman routine is legendary. She could split a playing card held edge-on and shoot dimes that were tossed in the air. She became so famous that she was the highest-earning performer in the “Wild West” show, besides Buffalo Bill himself. Believe it or not, footage of Annie Oakley in action still exists. Thomas Edison filmed part of Annie’s routine in 1894 as one of his early filming devices.