Archives West Finding Aid

Samuel Franklin Cody (1867-1913) wrote and performed the stage play The Klondyke Nugget about gold prospecting during the Klondike Gold Rush. He was born in Texas as Samuel Franklin Cowdery, but later changed his last name to profit on the fame of Buffalo Bill Cody. He began his career in the Forepaugh Wild West Show. He traveled throughout the United States with his own Wild West troupe and then went to England with his autobiographical play, The Klondyke Nugget which was based on his claim of having prospected for gold in near Dawson City during the Klondike Gold Rush. The play apparently toured in the British Isles between around 1898 and 1904. Cody starred in the play along with his second wife and her son. Cody later achieved fame as an aviator when he was the first man to conduct a powered flight in England. He also created kites that were used for artillery spotting in World War I.