Monday, April 18, 2011

10 Things You May Not Know About Annie Oakley


Last Saturday, in 1922, a 62-year-old Annie Oakley shot 100 clay targets in a row standing from a 16-yard-line, setting a new world record. In honor of Annie, here are 10 things you may have not known about her:

1.
Her real name was Phoebe Ann Moses.
2. She had a shooting contest with traveling marksman and dog trainer Frank Butler. He lost, then they got married.
3. She was five feet tall.
4. She was accused of stealing in order to support a cocaine habit.
5. She supported the women's rights movement in the early 20th century.
6. Her parents were Quakers.
7. Native American Sitting Bull "adopted" Oakley, giving her the Indian name "Watanya Cicilla," or "Little Sure Shot."
8. She had a rival: a 15-year-old sharpshooter Lillian Smith.
9. The president of France offered her a commission in the French army, and the King of Senegal wanted to buy her for 100,000 francs so she could kill the tigers that were plaguing his country. She declined both offers.
10. When the US entered World War I, Oakley telegraphed the secretary of war, offering to raise a "regiment of women" to join the fight, but the government didn't reply.

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