Samuel Franklin Cowdery (later known as S F Cody was (b.7 March 1867 - d.August] 1913) and an early pioneer of manned flight, most famous for his work on the large kites known as Cody War-Kites that were used in World War I as a smaller alternative to balloons for artillery spotting. A flamboyant showman, he was and still is often confused with Buffalo Bill Cody, whose surname he took when young. Year 1913 (MCMXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... Balloons, like greeting cards or flowers, are given for special occasions. ... Buffalo Bill (February 26, 1846 – January 10, 1917) was born William Frederick Cody in the American state of Iowa. ...

Cody's early life is difficult to separate from his own stories told later in life, but it appears he was born 'Franklin Cowdery' in Davenport,Scott County, Iowa in 1867; where he attended school until the age of 12. Not much is known about his life although it is suspected and 'glossed'that throughout his youth he lived the typical life of a cowboy. He learnt how to ride and train horses, hunt buffalo, shoot and use a lasso. He later prospected for gold in an area which later became Dawson City, centre of the famous Alaskan Gold Rush. Again these could be stories he picked up whilst travelling with various shows. Binomial name (Linnaeus, 1758) Subspecies B. b. ... Lariat redirects here. ... The Town of the City of Dawson or Dawson City is a town in the Yukon Territory, Canada. ... A typical gold mining operation, on Bonanza Creek The Klondike Gold Rush was a frenzy of immigration to and gold prospecting in the Klondike near Dawson City in the Yukon Territory, Canada, after gold was discovered in the late 19th century. ...

Cowdery started touring the US with a Wild West show, starring as 'Captain Cody, King of the Cowboys'. Cowdery married Maud Lee in Norristown, Pennsylvania, and the name Samuel Franklin Cody appears on the 1889 marriage certificate. Cody/Cowdery performed cowboy acts with his wife, demonstrations of rifle and pistol sharpshooting and horsemanship. In 1890 he took the show to Europe, and was later joined by his real wife 'Maud Maria Lee'. Norristown is a home rule municipality in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, 17 miles (27 km) west by north of Philadelphia, on the Schuylkill River. ...

S F Cody together with his wife Maud Maria toured Europe giving rifle and horse riding displays and it was whilst touring that he and his wife met with Mrs Elizabeth Mary King (nee Eliabeth Mary Davis) who was also touring with two of her younger sons Vivian and Leon King (later to be known as Leon and Vivian Cody to save embrassment). The descendents of Vivian (Cody)whose real name is King still refer to S F Cody as their grandfather or Gt Grandfather - which of course he is NOT. Maud Maria (Cody's real wife) taught the two young boys - (Leon and Vivian to ride and shoot on horseback) Maud Maria was later to return to the USA alone, whilst her husband took up with Mrs Elizabeth Mary King (later to be known as Lela Marie Cody)

Whilst in England, his company, including several members of the 'King' family, (to save embarrassment Leon and Vivian King still used the name of Cody as neither Mrs King or Cody ever divorced) toured the music halls, which were very popular at the time, giving demonstrations of his horse riding, shooting and lassoing skills. In 1898 Cody's latest show, The Klondyke Nugget, became very successful, this also included Edward Le Roy, (Edward King, Lela's eldest son from her marriage to Edward John King, a licensed victualer and brother to Leon and Vivian) Whilst in England, Cody still lived with Mrs Elizabeth Mary King (his common-law wife who used the name of Lela Marie Cody,and genrally assumed to be his legal wife). Music Hall is a form of British theatrical entertainment which reached its peak of popularity between 1850 and 1960. ...

It was around this time that Cody became interested in kites. Leon also became interested, and the two of them competed to make the largest kites capable of flying at ever increasing heights. Vivian too became involved After a great deal of experimentation, financed by his shows, Cody patented his famous design in 1901, a winged variation of Lawrence Hargrave's double-cell box kite. He offered this version for spotting to the War Office in December 1901 for use in the Second Boer War, and made several demonstration flights of up to 2,000 ft in various places around London. Hargrave (seated) and Swain demonstrate the manlift kites (labelled A, B, D, & E), sling seat and spring balance in the parkland behind Stanwell Park beach, November 1894 Lawrence Hargrave (29 January 1850 – 6 July 1915) was an engineer, explorer, astronomer, inventor and aeronautical pioneer. ... Diagram of Box kite Hargrave (seated) and Swain demonstrate the Hargrave box kite, November 1894. ... Old War Office Building, seen from Whitehall, London - the former location of the War Office The War Office was a former department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1963, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence. ... Combatants British Empire Orange Free State South African Republic Commanders Sir Redvers Buller Lord Kitchener Lord Roberts Paul Kruger Louis Botha Koos de la Rey Martinus Steyn Christiaan de Wet Casualties 20,000 6,500 Civilians killed [mainly Boers]: 24,000+ The Second Boer War (Dutch: Tweede Boerenoorlog, Afrikaans: Tweede... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ...

A large exhibition of the Cody Kites took place at Alexandra Place in 1903. Later he succeeded in crossing the English Channel in a canoe towed by one of his kites. His exploits came to the attention of the Admiralty, who hired him to look into the military possibilities of using kites for observation posts. He demonstrated them later that year, and again in 1908 when he flew off the deck of battleship HMS Revenge on September 2. Satellite view of the English Channel The English Channel (French: (IPA: ), the sleeve) is the part of the Atlantic Ocean that separates the island of Great Britain from northern France and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. ... Flag of the Lord High Admiral The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. ... Sixteen warships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Revenge. ... September 2 is the 245th day of the year (246th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Cody's interests turned to gliders, based largely on his kite designs. He built a glider and flew it a number of times in 1905. It eventually suffered damage in a hard landing and was not repaired. This was because the British Army had since become sufficiently impressed in his kites to hire Cody as Chief Instructor in Kiting at the Balloon School in Aldershot in 1906. Cody was charged with the formation of two kite sections of the Royal Engineers. It was this group that would evolve over the years into Air Battalion, Royal Engineers; No.1 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps; and then finally No.1 Squadron Royal Air Force. Gliders or Sailplanes are heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight. ... The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ... Aldershot is a town in the English county of Hampshire, located on heathland approximately 55 km (35 miles) southwest of London. ... The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army. ... The Air Battalion of the Royal Engineers was the first flying unit of the British Military. ... The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of World War I. // Formed by Royal Warrant on 13 May 1912, the RFC superseded the Air Battalion of the Royal Engineers. ... Once upon a time, there was a place called Mount Olympus, which was far up in the sky on a mountain. ... The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ...

During this period he also built a motorized kite that he wanted to develop into a man-carrying airplane. However the Army was more interested in airships, and during 1907 he was part of the team at Aldershot making the Nulli Secundus, England's first powered airship. On October 5 the Nulli Secundus flew from Aldershot to London in 3 hours 25 minutes with Cody, the principal designer, J E Capper, and an observer, Lieut C M Waterloo, onboard. After circling St Paul's Cathedral they attempted to return to Aldershot, but 18 mph headwinds forced them to land at Crystal Palace. is the 278th day of the year (279th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the cathedral church of the diocese of London. ... Crystal Palace is an area in south London, England within the postcode London SE19, named after the Crystal Palace, relocated to Upper Norwood in 1854. ...

Later that year the Army decided to fund the completion of his airplane design, British Army Aeroplane No.1. After just under a year of construction he started testing the machine in September 1908, gradually lengthening his "hops" until they reached 1,390 feet on October 16. The machine was damaged at the end of this flight, which was announced as the first official flight of a heavier than air machine in the British Isles. The War Office then decided that there was no future in aeroplanes, and Cody's contract with the Army ended with no funds for repair. October 16 is the 289th day of the year (290th in leap years). ...

Cody continued on his own however, repairing the plane and receiving permission to use Laffan's Plain for his test flights. On June 7, 1909, Cody received Royal Aero Club certificate number 9. Cody carried passengers for the first time in the world on August 14, first his old workmate Col. Capper, and then Lela Cody (Mrs Elizabeth Mary King). Cody made a world-record cross-country flight of 1 hour 3 minutes on September 5. June 7 is the 158th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (159th in leap years), with 207 days remaining. ... Year 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... The Royal Aero Club is the national co-ordinating body for Air Sport in the United Kingdom. ... is the 226th day of the year (227th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 248th day of the year (249th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 1910, using a newly-built aircraft Cody won the prestigious Michelin Cup with a flight of 4 hours 47 minutes. In 1911 with a different aircraft, the Flying Cathedral, then the largest aircraft in the world, was the only British plane to complete the round-England race, finishing fourth. This plane was then fitted with a new 120 hp (90 kW) engine, and won the £5,000 Military Trials on Salisbury Plain in 1912. This article is about the plateau in southern England; Salisbury Plain is also an area on South Georgia Island. ...

The grave of Samuel Franklin Cody in Aldershot Military Cemetery.

Cody continued to work on aircraft using his own funds. On August 7, 1913 he was out for a joyride in his latest design, a floatplane, when it broke up at 500 ft and he and his passenger were both killed. He was buried with full military honours in the Aldershot Military Cemetery; the funeral procession drew an estimated crowd of 100,000. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 294 × 598 pixelsFull resolution (381 × 775 pixel, file size: 78 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Adjacent memorial to Samuel Franklin Leslie Cody, Codys son. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 294 × 598 pixelsFull resolution (381 × 775 pixel, file size: 78 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Adjacent memorial to Samuel Franklin Leslie Cody, Codys son. ... The Mortuary Chapel of Aldershot Military Cemetery Aldershot Military Cemetery, is a burial ground for Military personal, or ex military personnel. ... is the 219th day of the year (220th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1913 (MCMXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... A DeHavilland Single Otter floatplane in Harbour Air livery A seaplane is an aircraft designed to take off and land on water. ... The Mortuary Chapel of Aldershot Military Cemetery Aldershot Military Cemetery, is a burial ground for Military personal, or ex military personnel. ...

Adjacent to Cody's own grave marker is a memorial to his ONLY son, Samuel Franklin Leslie Cody, who joined the Royal Flying Corps and 'fell in action fighting four enemy machines' in 1917. The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of World War I. // Formed by Royal Warrant on 13 May 1912, the RFC superseded the Air Battalion of the Royal Engineers. ...

External links

• Samuel Franklin Cody
• Aldershot Military Museum
• Historic Farnborough
• Photograph of Samuel Cody, hosted by the Portal to Texas History