Timeline Description: Annie Oakley (born August 13, 1860) was a performer and sharpshooter. She spent her working life shooting on stage in wild west acts, touring not only the United States, but also Europe.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| August 13, 1860 | Annie Oakley Born Annie Oakley was born Phoebe Ann Moses in Darke County, Ohio. Her parents were subsistence farmers and Quakers. |
| 1866 | Jakob Moses Died(Winter 1866) In the winter of 1866, Jakob Moses was caught in a blizzard. He contracted pneumonia and died soon after. The family experienced a financial crisis after his death. |
| 1867 | Death of a Child, Move for the Family The oldest of the Moses children, Mary, died of tuberculosis in 1867. Susan Moses and her remaining children were forced to move from the family farm to a smaller plot of land and young Phoebe Ann Moses began trapping to supplement the family's food supply. |
| 1868 | Annie Oakley Fired her First Shot At eight years old, the young Phoebe Ann Moses loaded her father's rifle and went squirrel hunting. She was successful, but her mother forbade her from using the gun again. |
| 1870 | Sent Away At only 10, Susan Moses sent Phoebe Ann Moses to the county poor farm. Initially, she worked for the Edington family, but was later sent to a cruel and abusive family-she referred to them only as the "wolves" in later life. |
| 1875 | Returned Home At 15, she returned to her mother's home and began shooting game in the nearby woods and selling it to shopkeepers. She was soon able to pay off her mother's mortgage. |
| 1875 | First Shooting Contest(Thanksgiving 1875) With a $100 prize on the line, Annie participated in a shooting contest against well known marksman Frank Butler. She won, impressing Butler. |
| August 23, 1876 | A Wedding On August 23, 1876 Phoebe Ann Moses married Frank Butler. She went on to tour with him, but was not performing on the tour. |
| May 1, 1882 | Annie on Stage On May 1, 1882, Butler's partner was too ill to perform. Annie took his place. Now calling herself Annie Oakley, the two began to perform together regularly. Oakley soon became the star, while Butler handled promotions and management. |
| 1883 | Buffalo Bill Cody's Show Began Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show premiered in New York in 1883. In December 1884, Oakley and Butler asked to join the show, but Buffalo Bill declined. |
| March 9, 1885 | Joined Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Shows In March, 1885, Annie Oakley joined Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show. His champion shooter had quit. She would remain with the show for the next 17 years. |
| 1886 | Lillian Smith Joined Buffalo Bill In 1886, Lillian Smith joined Buffalo Bill's show as a champion shooter in direct competition with Oakley. At this time, Oakley shaved several years off of her actual age, claiming she was born in 1866. |
| March 31, 1887 | Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show Went to London The entire show, including horses and buffalo, went to London in 1887 to perform at the London American Exposition. At the end of the London run, Annie Oakley quit Buffalo Bill's Show. |
| 1889 | Return to Buffalo Bill's and a Visit to Paris(Spring 1889) After Lillian Smith left Buffalo Bill's show, Annie Oakley returned, joining the show for a season at the Paris Exposition, followed by a three-year tour of Europe. |
| May 1, 1893 | Chicago While not part of the official "White City," the show drew record crowds at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago, Illinois. |
| October 29, 1901 | Butlers Left Buffalo Bill's Show Annie Oakley and Frank Butler left Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show for good in October 1901. Oakley took a theatrical role in the 1902 and 1903 seasons in Philadelphia. |
| August 11, 1903 | Scandal In August 1903, William Randolph Hearst published a false claim that Annie Oakley had been imprisoned for stealing to pay for cocaine. This was entirely false, but led to more than 50 libel suits. Once suits were settled, she continued to perform in shooting events and competitions. |
| 1911 | Young Buffalo Wild West(1911 to 1913) While invited to return to Buffalo Bill's, Annie declined, spending the next two years touring with another wild west show. |
| October 4, 1913 | Retirement Annie Oakley retired in 1913, to a cottage near Cambridge, Maryland. |
| November 3, 1926 | Annie Oakley Died. On November 3, 1926, several years after a car accident that left her disabled, Annie Oakley died in Greenville, Ohio. Frank Butler died only 18 days later. |