Buffalo Bill and His Wild West Show

On July 5, 2026, in the Betty Strong Encounter Center auditorium, retired history professor and award winning author Don Hickey will deliver an illustrated lecture on Buffalo Bill and His Wild West Show. Admission is free, but freewill donations are encouraged. Buffalo Bill Cody had already become a national hero as a soldier, scout, and Indian fighter when he developed his Wild West Show to illustrate the vanishing character of the West that he had helped tame. Seen by 50 million people on both sides of the Atlantic, the show turned its founder and star into the most famous man in the world. Hickey holds a PhD from the University of Illinois and is a specialist in early American history and American military history. He is best known for his books, The War of 1812: A Forgotten Conflict (University of Illinois Press) and Nebraska Moments: Glimpses of Nebraska’s Past (University of Nebraska Press). His latest book, Tecumseh's War: The Epic Conflict for the Heart of America, (Westholme Publishing) was published in 2023.