Samuel Franklin Cody Samuel Franklin Cody Samuel Franklin Cowdery (later known as Samuel Franklin Cody; 6 March 1867 – 7 August 1913, born Davenport, Iowa, USA) was a Wild West showman and early pioneer of manned flight. He is most famous for his work on the large kites known as "Cody War-Kites", that were used by the British in World War I as a smaller alternative to balloons for artillery spotting. He was also the first man to fly an aeroplane in Britain, on 16 October 1908. A flamboyant showman, he was often confused with Buffalo Bill Cody, whose surname he took when
Samuel Franklin Cody 1888, at 21 years of age, Cody started touring the US with Forepaugh's Circus, which at the time had a large Wild West show component. He married Maud Maria Lee in Norristown, Pennsylvania, and the name "Samuel Franklin Cody" appears on the April 1889 marriage certificate. Cody, together with his wife, toured England with a shooting act. Maud used the stage name Lillian Cody, which she kept for the rest of her performing career. In London, they met Mrs Elizabeth Mary King (née Davis), wife of Edward John 'Ted' King, a licensed victualler, and mother of four children, Edward, Leon,