|
|
|
|
|
February 26, 1846 - January 10, 1917
American soldier, bison hunter and showman, William Frederick Cody was one of the most colourful figures of the American Old West. His Wild West show was so popular that by 1883 it appeared at the Chicago World's Fair and four years later was presented to Queen Victoria during her Golden Jubilee.
Represented in some 1,700 dime novels as a rough-hewn outdoorsman, Cody was an early defender of the rights of women and American natives. He also supported conservation, speaking out against hide-hunting and pushing for established hunting seasons.
Cody was active in the concordant bodies of Freemasonry, becoming a Knight Templar in 1889 and receiving his 32 degree in 1894. He received a masonic funeral on June 3, 1917 complete with eight pallbearers dressed in their Knights Templar uniforms.
Entered Apprentice: March 5, 1870
Fellowcraft: April 2 1870
Master Mason: January 10, 1871
Platte Valley Lodge No. 32, North Platte, Nebraska
Source: Denslow, 10,000 Famous Freemasons. Photo by Mora, ca. 1875.
|
|