Annie Oakley was born in Ohio in 1860; her full name, Phoebe Anne Oakley Mozee.
At the age of sixteen she married Frank Butler, a vaudeville actor, and became a superb marksman; her skill, it was said, was such that by 1,000 shots with a rifle on one occasion she broke 942 glass balls tossed in the air.
Touring with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show in the 1880’s and 1890’s, she would demonstrate her marksmanship by successively centering shots through the pips of a playing card, usually the five of hearts.
Through this feat her name became synonymous with a complimentary pass to a show, which, formerly, was a ticket punched by the manager when issued, not unlike the card perforated by Annie’s shots.
She died in 1926.
