11th July: Buffalo Bill Day

Today is Buffalo Bill Day. Not sure why as it's not his birthday or the anniversary of his death, but here are 10 things you may not know about Buffalo Bill:

1. William Frederick Cody became known as Buffalo Bill because one of his many careers was supplying buffalo meat to labourers working on the Kansas Pacific Railroad.
2. He entered the world of work at 11, when his father died and finances were tough. His first job was as a messenger boy, riding a horse up and down a wagon train delivering messages. Then at 14, he joined the Pony Express, working there until he had to return home to his ailing mother.
3. There was another man who thought he had the right to the name of Buffalo Bill - a hunter named William Comstock. The two settled their dispute in the best way they knew how - by a buffalo shooting contest. Nevertheless, in later life, Cody became a supporter conservation, advocating a defined hunting season and speaking out against hunting buffalo just for their hides.
4. Buffalo Bill had a name for his rifle. He called it Lucretia Borgia after the character in the Victor Hugo play.
5. He was a Freemason and a Knight Templar.
6. He got a part in Texas Jack Omohundro's show, The Scouts of the Prairie, in Chicago in 1872. 21 years later, he was running the show, which was now called Buffalo Bill's Wild West and Congress of Rough Riders of the World. Many famous names which epitomise the wild west took part: Annie Oakley, Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane and Sitting Bull.
7. The show did not limit itself to the wild west - people from other cultures also took part: Turks, Gauchos, Arabs, Mongols and Georgians joined Native Americans in displaying their feats of skill.
8. The show toured Europe several times and featured in the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the Storming of the Bastille. Queen Victoria saw the show, and for once, was amused. She liked it so much that she requested a repeat performance for her Jubilee.
9. Cody was a supporter of rights for Native Americans, which he called "the former foe, present friend, the American". He paid those who appeared in his shows well, and often included more domestic scenes of Native American life so that audiences would see them as more than just warriors. He also supported women's rights. "What we want to do is give women even more liberty than they have. Let them do any kind of work they see fit, and if they do it as well as men, give them the same pay," he said.
10. After the final closure of the show, Buffalo Bill saw another business opportunity with the growing popularity of Yellowstone Park. He opened a hotel on the road leading to it, and called it the Irma Hotel after his daughter.