08/14/2020
Annie Oakley, the famed American sharpshooter and star of Buffalo Bill's Wild West show, was born on this day in 1860. Oakley was born in a log cabin in rural Ohio and began shooting and hunting at age eight to collect wild game to help support her widowed mother and siblings.
From a young age she performed shooting acts at circuses and shows and, over time, Oakley became one of the first global superstars renowned worldwide for her incredible skill. One of her most famous feats was splitting a playing card, edge-on, and filling it with holes before it hit the ground at 90 feet using a .22-caliber rifle.
Oakley championed women's right to education, as well as taught an estimated 15,000 women how to shoot for purposes of hunting, exercise and recreation. As she once said, "God intended women to be outside as well as men, and they do not know what they are missing when they stay cooped up in the house.”
For an excellent biography to introduce children to this remarkable trailblazer, we highly recommend "Who Was Annie Oakley?" for ages 8 to 12 at https://www.amightygirl.com/who-was-annie-oakley
She is also one of several inspiring role models featured in the picture book "My Name Is Not Isabella: Just How Big Can a Little Girl Dream?" for ages 4 to 8 at https://www.amightygirl.com/my-name-is-not-isabella
For a fun Annie Oakley Costume for everyday dress-up or Halloween for ages 7 to 14, visit https://www.amightygirl.com/annie-oakley-costume
To introduce young readers to many real-life, historic cowgirls, we also recommend "The Cowgirl Way: Hats Off to America's Women of the West" for ages 9 and up at https://www.amightygirl.com/the-cowgirl-way
Oakley is also one 32 trailblazing women featured on the "Women Who Dared Building Block" set for ages 2 and up at https://www.amightygirl.com/women-who-dared-blocks
For stories of both real-life and fictional girls and women who, like Annie Oakley, confronted gender discrimination in a multitude of forms, visit our "Gender Discrimination" section at http://amgrl.co/1jdxKIy
Thanks to the National Women's History Museum for sharing this image!
