James "Jim" Bowie (pronounced /ˈbuːiː/ or /ˈboʊ.i/; c.1796 – March 6, 1836) was a 19th-century American pioneer, who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution, culminating in his death at the Battle of the Alamo. Stories of him as a fighter and frontiersman, both real and fictitious, have made him a legendary figure in Texas history and a folk hero of American culture.