Founded in 1917 as the Buffalo Bill Memorial Association, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center (BBHC) is a museum that educates the public by advancing knowledge about the American West through acquiring, preserving, exhibiting, and interpreting collections. Founded to preserve the legacy and vision of Colonel William F. Cody, the BBHC is the oldest and most comprehensive museum of the West; over the years it has become much more than a monument to the life and times of Buffalo Bill. The BBHC is comprised of five museums and a research library: the Whitney Gallery of Western Art, the Buffalo Bill Museum, the Plains Indian Museum, the Cody Firearms Museum, the Draper Museum of Natural History, and the Harold McCracken Research Library.