Buffalo Bill Cody, born William Frederick in Iowa in 1846, was an American soldier, Bison hunter and Pony express rider before becoming a showman in 1872 and founding the town of Cody, Wyoming in 1895. Buffalo Bill delivered messages for the Pony Express. He was a soldier in the Civil War and Chief of Scouts for the Third Cavalry during the Plains Indian Wars. Buffalo Bill earned his nickname by killing 4,280 bison in just 18 months for the Kansas Pacific Railroad. And while those activities contributed to his persona, it was the Wild West shows that made Buffalo Bill famous. Buffalo Bill brought the American West to the world through his traveling theater called Buffalo Bill's Wild West. First staged in North Platte, Nebraska in 1883, Buffalo Bill's Wild West performed at the Chicago World's Fair and even traveled to London and Rome. So why did Buffalo Bill found Cody? Buffalo Bill Cody believed the area's rich soil, impressive scenery and proximity to Yellowstone National Park would attract tourists and settlers both.