1

Paul Bunyan

Image: Abby Savage

Paul Bunyan , the colossal lumberjack of American folklore, is said to have cleared forests from the Northeast to the Pacific Northwest. With his blue ox, Babe , he performed incredible feats of strength, like carving out the Grand Canyon just by dragging his axe behind him, and creating the Great Lakes with his footprints.

Originating in oral traditions among lumberjacks, Bunyan’s exaggerated exploits gained momentum with the American westward expansion during the 19th century and soon became deeply ingrained in the popular imagination.

2

Johnny Appleseed

Image: Aarón Blanco Tejedor

Born John Chapman, Johnny Appleseed wandered the American frontier planting apple trees and spreading goodwill in the early 19th century. A devout Christian, he became a folk hero for his kindness, environmentalism, and pioneering spirit.

Contrary to the popular image of Johnny Appleseed randomly scattering apple seeds, he was a skilled nurseryman who meticulously planted apple tree nurseries. Each nursery was carefully fenced to shield the saplings from livestock and wildlife. After establishing these nurseries, he entrusted them to neighbors but revisited them periodically.

3

Pecos Bill

Image: JosephHershMedia

Pecos Bill , a fictional cowboy raised by coyotes in the wilds of Texas, became a larger-than-life figure known for taming cyclones and roping tornadoes. His adventures, first popularized in the early 20th century, embody the frontier spirit and Texas mythology, blending humor with tales of rugged individualism.

Among his many tales, one credits him with creating the Gulf of Mexico . According to legend, during a severe drought in Texas, Pecos Bill lassoed a storm cloud in California and brought it to Texas. The resulting deluge caused extensive flooding, ultimately forming the Gulf.

4

Davy Crockett

Image: Joseph Corl

Davy Crockett , known as the "King of the Wild Frontier," was a real-life frontiersman later turned politician whose exploits were mythologized even during his lifetime. Born in East Tennessee, he quickly gained fame for his sharp hunting skills and captivating storytelling.

During his time in the U.S. Congress, he staunchly opposed many of President Andrew Jackson’s policies, particularly the Indian Removal Act, and championed the rights of small landowners. Crockett’s life ended with valor at the Battle of the Alamo , solidifying his folk legend as a symbol of courage and patriotism. His legacy remains an enduring part of American history.

5

Calamity Jane

Image: Vidar Nordli-Mathisen

Martha Jane Canary, better known by her alias Calamity Jane, was a frontierswoman and scout famed for her sharpshooting skills and daredevil exploits. During her youth, she stepped up to provide for her large family, taking on various jobs, from ox team driver to scout for Fort Russell. Eventually, she embraced the rough and adventurous lifestyle that made her a legend.

Despite her fearsome reputation, Calamity Jane was compassionate and often helped those in need. Her adventures in the Wild West alongside figures like Wild Bill Hickok cemented her status as a legend of the American frontier.

6

Molly Pitcher

Image: Garry T

Molly Pitcher, the nickname given to Mary Ludwig Hays McCauley, became famous for her bravery during the American Revolutionary War. Although several historical figures are known by this moniker for similar deeds, Mary Ludwig Hays distinguished herself during the Battle of Monmouth in June 1778, where she served as a water carrier for the soldiers.

When her husband, an artilleryman in the Continental Army, fell to enemy fire, she took his place, swabbing and loading the cannon with such bravery and determination that she earned a commendation from George Washington.

7

Daniel Boone

Image: Scott Longerbeam

Daniel Boone was a legendary frontiersman and explorer who blazed trails through the Appalachian Mountains and into Kentucky. Born in 1734, Boone became famous for his expert hunting and survival skills, as well as his role in establishing the Wilderness Road, a trail that facilitated westward migration through the Cumberland Gap.

After serving as a militia officer during the Revolutionary War, he was briefly taken in by the Shawnees in the Northeastern Woodlands. After a few years, he returned and continued to help protect the Kentucky settlements.

8

Buffalo Bill

Image: Judy Beth Morris

William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody was a legendary figure of the American West, known for his Wild West shows that toured the United States and Europe. Born in 1846, Cody was a skilled buffalo hunter, Army scout, and showman who brought cowboy skills and frontier life to audiences worldwide.

He earned his nickname after the Civil War by providing Kansas Pacific Railroad workers with buffalo meat, hunting record numbers of the animal. He even engaged in hunting competitions with his partner, Bill Comstock. His legendary figure has been frequently portrayed in film and television, especially during the height of the Western genre in the 1960s.

9

Wild Bill Hickok

Image: Pablò

James Butler Hickok, famously known as Wild Bill Hickok, was a legendary figure of the American Old West. Born in 1837, Hickok gained fame as a skilled marksman, gambler, and lawman.

Though his exploits were certainly exaggerated by the outlandish tales he told about himself, he was involved in several notorious gunfights during his life. Most notably, he dueled with Davis Tutt, a local gambler with whom he had various disagreements, particularly over their mutual affection for the same woman.

10

John Henry

Image: Lucio Patone

John Henry was a legendary steel-driving man whose man-against-machine tale epitomized the strength and resilience of the American worker. An African American freedman, his dangerous job involved hammering steel drills into rocks to create holes for explosives used to blast open railroad tunnels.

According to the legend, John Henry's prowess was tested in a race against a steam-powered drill. He won the race but tragically died after victory, hammer in hand when his heart gave out from the immense physical stress.

1

"Buffalo Bill" Cody

Image: Illinois State University, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

If we had to name the most famous cowboy in history , Buffalo Bill Cody would probably be a top contender. Throughout his lifetime, Cody greatly contributed to shaping the image we have of the American West.

Born in Iowa in 1846, he earned his nickname while working for the Union Pacific Railway, where railroad workers were amazed by his hunting skills. But history had bigger plans in store for Cody, and he would soon become an actor , traveling throughout the eastern United States performing plays based on stories of the Wild West for more than 30 years.

Eventually, poor business management and a certain change in popular interests led Buffalo Bill to ruin and he retired from show business just two months before his death in 1917. He was, however, mourned by millions of people who considered him a hero.

2

John Henry "Doc" Holliday

Image: Mehmet Turgut Kirkgoz

John Henry "Doc" Holliday was born in 1851 in Griffin, Georgia, into a wealthy family. He earned his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree in Philadelphia but was shortly thereafter diagnosed with tuberculosis and advised to live in the drier, hotter climate of the West.

In Dallas, Texas, he pursued his trade as a dentist but also discovered saloons and whiskey. Soon, realizing that gambling could be much more lucrative than dentistry, he began his professional gambling career.

The rest of his life was spent among crooks, gunfights, and jailmates in New Mexico, Arizona, and California. At only 36 years old, his lungs could not keep up with his gunslinging way of life and he finally met his death in 1887 in a hotel bed in Colorado. It is said that his last words were, "This is funny."

3

Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid

Image: yavuz pancareken

The lives of Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid became legendary pretty quickly. As early as 1903, their exploits inspired the first modern film —Edwin S. Porter's _The Great Train Robbery_— and since then, their adventures have not ceased to be portrayed by popular culture. In a way, they symbolize the definitive end of the romanticized Western era at the hands of 20th-century industrialization and urbanization.

Both cowboys were members of a gang known as "The Wild Bunch," which earned them a reputation as bank and train robbers. According to lore, after several years of crime and run-ins with the law, the bandits managed to escape to Latin America. Eventually, they were caught and killed in Bolivia in 1908. The fact that their graves were never found helped fuel the myth that they had, in fact, returned to the United States and lived in anonymity for many more years.

4

Jesse James

Image: Steve

Jesse James's life is one of the most emblematic of the Wild West. His criminal career began after his involvement with pro-Confederate guerrillas during the Civil War. Along with the Younger brothers, he created a gang with which they robbed banks, trains, stagecoaches, and stores from Iowa to Texas and from Tennessee to California.

It is believed that throughout the years they netted more than a quarter of a million dollars. Despite the gory nature of their heists and murders, the gang often had public sympathy.

Jesse's death is as controversial as his life. At only 34 years old, he was shot in the back by one of his gang partners, who hoped to obtain a state reward in exchange for his betrayal. The public was not happy with the government conspiring to assassinate a citizen, no matter how criminal, and the matter became a scandal, resulting in Jesse James's rise to mythical status.

5

Annie Oakley

Image: International Film Service, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

From an early age, Phoebe Anne Oakley Moses, better known as Annie Oakley, took up hunting to help support her family. At the age of fifteen, she won a competition against the famous marksman Frank Butler, to whom she later married. Together, they appeared in several exhibitions across the country and, in 1885, joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West show.

Annie was able to open the edge of a letter, shatter glass balls thrown in the air, and hit dimes held between her husband's fingers or apples placed in her poodle's mouth by shooting from 30 paces away. Her life was so rich and fascinating that she was the inspiration for several movies and plays.

6

Billy the Kid

Image: See page for author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

According to legend, Henry McCarty, better known as Billy the Kid, killed at least 21 people during his career as a notorious outlaw in New Mexico. However, he cemented his place in the pantheon of frontier legends not so much for his murders as for his personality and incredible marksmanship skills.

Born in the late 1850s in the Irish slums of New York City, McCarty had to reinvent himself as a gunslinger after the death of his mother when he was just a teenager. His life and the events surrounding his death at the hands of legendary lawman Pat Garrett were immortalized in numerous films, books, and songs. In fact, Billy the Kid holds the record as the most portrayed individual in cinematic history.

7

Lucille Mulhall

Image: Melissa Walsh

By 1900, split riding skirts allowed women to compete in rodeos without shocking Victorian-era audiences. But the truth is that women have been participating in exhibitions even in the early days of the Old West.

Lucille Mulhall is considered America's first legendary cowgirl. Born in 1885, Lucille grew up on her family's ranch in Oklahoma, where she acquired her incredible cattle-roping skills. She began performing in shows as a teenager and, throughout her career, competed in many rodeos, setting a few roping world records.

8

Belle Starr

Image: Pixabay

Perhaps the most famous female gunslinger in the history of the West was Myra Maybelle Shirley Reed Starr, better known as Belle Starr. Born in Missouri in 1848, Belle had a fairly well-to-do childhood and was a bright student. However, when her family moved to Texas after the Civil War, the young girl stumbled upon the James-Younger gang. After falling in love with Cole Younger, she became a member of the gang.

That love affair didn't last long, but a few others followed, which led her to live outside the law for the rest of her life. Her alleged riding and gun skills increased her fame throughout the country, turning her into a legend.

9

Wyatt Earp

Image: National Archives at College Park, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Wyatt Earp belonged to a large family whose members were famous for being gunfighters, gamblers, bison hunters, miners, and lawmen. While all were notorious Wild West characters, it was Wyatt's exploits that have gone down in history. His life is testimony to the ambiguity that prevailed at a time when there was no distinction between upholding the law and transgressing it.

After a long life traveling the American West as a deputy sheriff, bounty hunter, and saloon owner, in 1905 Wyatt settled permanently in Los Angeles, California. He became a film consultant in Hollywood, befriending producers, directors, and actors. It is even said that John Wayne took Earp’s stories as inspiration for some of the tough characters he portrayed on the big screen.

10

"Wild Bill" Hickok

Image: Turuncu Sakal

James Butler Hickok, better known as "Wild Bill," is a legendary folk hero thanks to the many stories that romanticized his life as a soldier, gunslinger, gambler, marshal, and actor. Over the years, his adventures have been retold numerous times in pop culture. The truth is that Hickok did more in his thirty-nine years of life than most who lived twice as long.

Since his birth in Illinois in 1837, he is said to have been involved in some of the most dramatic and, at the same time, most spectacular events in the history of the Wild West. His death, unsurprisingly, is also legendary. In 1876, while playing a game of poker in a saloon in Deadwood, Dakota Territory, a man named Jack McCall shot him in the back of the head. The cards he was holding at the time —two pairs of Aces and black Eights— became the well-known "dead man's hand."

1

Frank Sinatra was punished by the mob over JFK

According to reports, during the 1960 presidential election, Frank Sinatra allegedly acted as an intermediary connecting Chicago Outfit boss Sam Giancana with John F. Kennedy’s campaign. The mob believed securing votes for JFK would lead to lighter law enforcement pressure on organized crime.

When President Kennedy and Attorney General Robert Kennedy instead launched an aggressive crackdown on the Mafia, Giancana blamed Sinatra for failing to deliver on implied promises. As punishment, Giancana is said to have forced Sinatra to perform eight consecutive nights of unpaid shows at his Villa Venice nightclub in suburban Chicago to make up for the betrayal.

2

Al Capone opened one of America’s first Great Depression soup kitchens

In November 1930, as the Great Depression devastated the American economy, Chicago mob boss Al Capone saw an opportunity to improve his public image by opening a soup kitchen. Operating out of a storefront at 935 South State Street, Capone’s establishment served three hot meals a day (including coffee, soup, and donuts) to over 2,200 unemployed people daily.

Capone funded the operation entirely out of pocket with no government assistance, earning him a reputation among many locals as a modern Robin Hood before his tax evasion conviction.

3

Prohibition moonshiners wore "Cow Shoes" to fool the law

During Prohibition, federal agents and state police tracked illegal distilleries by following human footprints through soft mud and dirt. To counter this, rural bootleggers invented "cow shoes".

These specialized footwear attachments consisted of a carved wooden block shaped like a cow’s hoof at the bottom. When moonshiners walked through the woods carrying heavy jugs of illegal liquor, they left behind tracks that looked like cattle rather than criminals.

4

John Dillinger escaped jail with a block of wood

In March 1934, infamous bank robber John Dillinger was locked inside the Lake County Jail in Crown Point, Indiana, a facility local officials bragged was completely impossible to escape from.

Using a pocketknife, Dillinger carved a piece of wood into the shape of an automatic pistol and stained it black using razor polish. He used the wooden prop to trick a guard into opening his cell door. After taking real weapons from the jail armory, Dillinger took hostages and stole the sheriff’s personal V8 Ford to make his getaway.

5

The "Oddfather" wandered New York in pajamas for 30 years

Vincent "Chin" Gigante, boss of New York’s powerful Genovese crime family, earned the nickname "The Oddfather" for his elaborate scheme to evade federal prosecution. Starting in the late 1960s, Gigante began wandering the streets of Greenwich Village wearing a ragged bathrobe, pajamas, and slippers while muttering incoherently to himself.

His lawyers presented him as suffering from severe dementia and schizophrenia. For nearly three decades, the performance protected him from trial. However, in 1997, federal prosecutors finally proved in court that the routine was an act, and Gigante admitted in 2003, at age 75, that his madness was fake.

6

Al Capone accidentally shot himself in the groin

Despite his reputation as a ruthless gang boss, Al Capone was surprisingly clumsy with his own weapons. In September 1928, while playing a round of golf at the Burnham Woods course near Chicago, Capone reached into his pocket to retrieve a golf ball.

His hand caught the trigger of his hidden, loaded revolver. The gun discharged, shooting Capone through the right thigh and groin. He was rushed to Saint Mary’s Hospital under the alias "Bob Hart" and spent weeks recovering from the self-inflicted wound.

7

FDR rode in Al Capone’s armored limousine?

Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the Secret Service faced an immediate security dilemma: President Franklin D. Roosevelt needed a bulletproof vehicle for his public appearances, but federal rules prohibited spending more than $750 (or about $17,000 today) on executive automobiles.

According to legend, Treasury agents solved the problem by pulling Al Capone’s custom 1928 Cadillac Town Sedan out of impound. The car had been seized by the government following Capone’s tax evasion trial in 1931. Equipped with heavy armor plating and bulletproof glass, Capone’s former car might have safely transported President Roosevelt to Capitol Hill to deliver his famous "Day of Infamy" speech.

8

Kingpin Arnold Rothstein never drank alcohol

Arnold "The Brain" Rothstein was the financial mastermind of 1920s American organized crime, famously transforming street gangs into corporate syndicates and allegedly fixing the 1919 World Series.

Despite making tens of millions of dollars importing illegal liquor during Prohibition, Rothstein was a strict teetotaler. He never drank alcohol, smoked cigarettes, or used drugs. Instead, he preferred milk, ginger ale, and club soda, maintaining that staying sober gave him a clear advantage over business rivals and gamblers.

9

Bugsy Siegel tried to fix his hairline with magic

Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel, the mobster credited with developing the Flamingo Hotel and building modern Las Vegas, was notoriously vain. Obsessed with his good looks, Siegel loathed his nickname "Bugsy" (slang for crazy) and lived in terror of going bald.

As his hairline began to recede, Siegel turned to extreme measures. He bought expensive unproven tonics, tried home remedies involving raw eggs and olive oil, and consulted spiritualists who offered magical chants and scalp massages to restore his hair growth.

10

Mickey Cohen was a devoted dog dad and germaphobe

West Coast mob boss Mickey Cohen ruled Los Angeles crime with an iron fist, but his personal life was defined by extreme eccentricities. Cohen was a germaphobe who washed his hands dozens of times a day and refused to touch doorknobs without a towel.

At the same time, Cohen was a passionate dog lover. He showered his pet dogs with affection, buying them silk bedding, feeding them prime cuts of meat, and hiring full-time staff to groom and walk them. When his favorite dogs fell ill, Cohen hired top veterinary specialists to tend them at his Hollywood home.