Bill “Buffallo” Cody’s life in every way personified the Wild West. He was born in 1846 in an Iowa log cabin, and grew in at what historian Fredrerick Jackon Turner called the “meeting point of savagery and civilization,” for a while lived in Canada and then moved back to the Kansas Terriitories. Name a historically significant event — from the Pony Express to the Gold Rush to the buffalo herding — and he was there. Legend has it he even singlehandedly killed Cheyenne leader Yellow Hand, raising his scalp and dedicating it to the fallen General Custer. A myth no doubt perpetuated by the showman, Cody, himself.

On this day, May 9, in 1867, after a successful run in the States “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show” opened its first show in Lindon, as part of a a year-long tour of Britain. The London season was part of a joint venture with the American Exhibition and corresponded with celebrations of Queen Victoria’s Jubilee.

The troupe’s command performance before the Queen caused a sensation. Cody’s affinity for drama enabled him to stage fantastically rich worlds of the Wild West. Over two million Londoners paid a schilling each to see the Cody’s show during their stay. Their London success led to several extended tours of Europe, including a extraordinary run at the 1889 Exposition Universelle in Paris.