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(#6) She Once Shot A Cigarette Out Of Kaiser Wilhelm II's Mouth
Out of all of Oakley's feats, one of her best tricks involved shooting the lit end off of a cigarette. She was so good at this, in fact, that Kaiser Wilhelm II let her aim at a cigarette that he had in his mouth in 1890. She cleanly removed not only the lit part of the cigarette, but she knocked the entire thing out of his mouth.
After World War I started, Oakley supposedly quipped that she wished she had missed that shot.
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(#9) She Raised Money For The Red Cross During World War I
Oakley tried to join the troops during World War I, and offered to create an all-female regiment of sharpshooters. But her offer was turned down, as the battlefront was still considered the realm of men. Instead, Oakley spent her time performing for the troops, and assisted the war effort by raising money for the Red Cross. She also aided various military charities.
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(#12) She Made Her Own Costumes
Despite her "manly" profession and skill with a gun, Oakley wanted to remain feminine both on and off stage. Rather than wear men's clothing during her act, she wore blouses and skirts made in a Western style that she sewed herself during her off time. She also behaved rather modestly, and took up feminine hobbies such as embroidery.
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(#3) She Out-Shot A Traveling Marksman
Oakley met her future husband Frank Butler when she was just 16 years old. At the time, he was working as a traveling marksmen, showing off his shooting skills to any available paid audiences. His main trick involved a series of 25 trick shots that he rarely missed.
On the day that Butler met Oakley, he offered to challenge local sharpshooters. Jack Frost, a Cincinnati hotel owner who happened to be in the area, ponied up enough money to pay for Oakley to take on Butler's challenge. Butler missing one shot, while Oakley made all 25. He was so impressed by her skills that he took the time to get to know her, and the two married in 1876.
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(#2) She Starred In Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show
After Oakley married Frank Butler, the pair began traveling and performing as sharpshooters together. Mrs. Butler took the name "Annie Oakley," perhaps inspired by the Oakley neighborhood in Cincinnati where they lived.
In 1884, they joined the Sells Brother's Circus, but only stayed with them for one year, because a better opportunity came along: Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. At the time, this was one of the most successful traveling acts in the United States. The performing troop traveled to 130 different U.S. cities, and even went abroad to Canada and parts of Europe.
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(#8) She Sued William Randolph Hearst And Won
William Randolph Hearst was a media magnate whose Hearst Communications owned hundreds of newspapers in the United States. In 1903, two of his Chicago-based newspapers published a story claiming that Oakley had an addiction to cocaine and, in the midst of a drug bender, stole a man's pants. This was untrue - the actual culprit was a Chicago burlesque performer posing as the sharpshooter.
Oakley sued Hearst for libel. She won a cash settlement of $27,000 and Hearst made a full retraction of the story.
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Throughout the history of the Wild West, few people remember some historical figures, except for the professional sharpshooter Annie Oakley. Anne Oakley looks cute and harmless, but she is good at using powerful guns and has lethal aiming ability. She started learning to shoot when she was only 5 years old. At the age of 16, she challenged and won the famous sharpshooter Frank Butler, and then married him.
The couple traveled around America to perform shooting. Frank named his wife a stage name after a street name in Chicago, which was Annie Oakley. The random tool shares 15 facts about the outstanding shooter, Annie Oakley.
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