Colonel Cody and the Flying Cathedral

Part Barnum, part Baron Munchausen, part Orville Wright, part Zelig, Samuel Cody cut one of the most colourful and controversial figures of his age. He was the first man to fly in England, and the nation mourned when his seaplane broke and killed him. During his youth in America, Cody worked the same cattle trails as Buffalo Bill, played the same roulette tables as Wyatt Earp and competed with Annie Oakley for the title of King of the Wild West. In Britain he pioneered powered flight. He became the official inventor to the army's baloon factory at Farnborough and over the years he fought with the Army and rivals to become the first man to fly in England. When he died, his seaplane snapping in half in midair, King George V insisted on giving Cody a full military funeral.