She later said if she'd been a worse shot, she could have prevented WWI.
In 1885, Buffalo Bill hired Annie and her husband for his Wild West Show and toured with the show for sixteen years. They performed throughout the United States and eventually, across Europe. Annie was the star of the show, and Frank was working as her manager and assistant.
In 1890, Annie was performing in Berlin where among the audience was Friedrich Wilhelm II, the last German Emperor (Kaiser) and King of Prussia. He was a great admirer of Oakley’s performances who previously had been to several runs of the show.
During the show, Annie asked a for a volunteer to accept risking his life by holding a cigarette in his mouth from which she would attempt to shoot the ashes. She did this regularly while performing, but until that day no one was brave enough to accept the challenge except for her husband who always stepped forward as her assistant.
However, there was a volunteer that time, and it was the Kaiser himself. He was the last person which Annie expected to volunteer for this dangerous shooting act, but she had no choice and invited him onto the stage. She knew that he was one of the most powerful men in Europe and that his life was in her hands. She raised her Colt .45 while Kaiser placed a cigar in his mouth and she pulled the trigger.
She blew away the ashes right off the Kaiser’s cigarette. Had the bullet hit him instead of the cigarette placed in his mouth, the event would have changed the course of the history. Later, the young Kaiser played a major role in launching World War I.
That’s quite a story. Thanks for posting 👍