William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody (February 26, 1846 - January 10, 1917) was an American scout, bison hunter, and showman. "Buffalo Bill" got his nickname after the American Civil War, when he had a contract to supply Kansas Pacific Railroad workers with buffalo meat. Cody is purported to have killed 4,282 American bison (commonly known as buffalo) in eighteen months, (1867-1868).