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Apr 17, 2024 · Billy the Kid (born November 23, 1859?, New York, New York, U.S.—died July 14, 1881, Fort Sumner, New Mexico) was an American outlaw who was one of the most notorious gunfighters of the American West. Although he claimed to have killed 21 men, the actual number is likely less than 10.
- He Was Orphaned as A Teen.
- The Kid’s First Arrest Came For Stealing Clothes from A Laundry.
- He Played A Prominent Role in A Frontier Feud.
- The Kid Never Robbed A Train Or A Bank.
- He Was Involved in at Least Nine Murders.
- The Kid Made A Famous Jailbreak.
- Billy The Kid Was Just 21 Years Old at The Time of His death.
- Some Believe The Kid Wasn’T Killed in 1881.
- He’S Been The Subject of More Than 50 Movies.
Little is known about Billy the Kid’s early days, but he was most likely born Henry McCarty in the Irish slums of New York City sometime in late 1859. Raised by a single mother, he moved to Wichita, Kansas, as a boy before later migrating west to New Mexico in the early 1870s. Henry quickly adapted to life in the rugged territory and became fluent ...
Henry McCarty’s first run-in with the law came in 1875 when he assisted a local street tough known as “Sombrero Jack” in stealing clothing from a Chinese laundry. Henry hid the loot in his boarding house but was arrested after his landlord turned him in to the sheriff. The crime only carried a minor sentence, but rather than face punishment, the wi...
Billy the Kid first earned his reputation as a gunslinger in 1878, when he participated in a bloody frontier war in Lincoln County, New Mexico. The conflict centered on a business rivalry between British-born rancher John Tunstall and a pair of Irish tycoons named James Dolan and Lawrence Murphy. Dolan and Murphy’s outfit—known as “The House”—had l...
Unlike other Old West outlaws such as Jesse James, Cole Younger or Butch Cassidy, Billy the Kid didn’t make his living as a bandit. The young gunslinger stole the occasional horse, but he never once held up a bank, train or even a stagecoach. Outside of his gunfighting days with the Regulators, his main criminal enterprise was rustling cattle on th...
The Kid was known for his easygoing personality, but he wasn’t afraid to draw his six-shooter when provoked. In a four-year span between 1877 and 1881, the baby-faced outlaw was involved in the shooting deaths of some nine men, at least four of whom he killed singlehandedly. One particularly legendary gunfight unfolded in January 1880 at a New Mexi...
In late 1880, Lincoln County Sheriff Pat Garrett tracked the Kid to a cabin in Stinking Springs, New Mexico, and forced his surrender. The outlaw was found guilty of the murder of Sheriff William Brady and confined to the Lincoln courthouse. He was scheduled for a date with the hangman, but on the evening of April 28, 1881, he engineered the most d...
After his escape from death row, the Kid spent several months hiding out on the frontier and taking refuge with sympathetic locals in Fort Sumner, New Mexico. He neglected to keep a low profile, however, and it wasn’t long before Sheriff Pat Garrett and two deputies rode into town. On the night of July 14, 1881, Garrett went to the home of rancher ...
Pat Garrett became an Old West legend for killing Billy the Kid, yet as the years passed, rumors circulated that the Sheriff had either shot the wrong man or helped fake the outlaw’s death. In the late 1940s, an elderly Texas man known as “Brushy Bill” Roberts even claimed to be Billy the Kid in the flesh, but his story was largely discredited afte...
The Kid was a celebrity in his own time, but his legend only grew after his death thanks to dime novels, television shows and Hollywood films. Beginning with the 1911 silent film “Billy the Kid,” the gun-toting outlaw’s story has appeared on the big screen more than 50 times. Some of the most famous actors to play the Kid include Roy Rogers, Paul N...
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Billy the Kid remains one of the most notorious figures from the era, whose life and likeness have been frequently dramatized in Western popular culture. He has been a feature of more than 50 movies and several television series.
Nov 12, 2023 · Billy the Kid: The Incredible Story of America’s Favorite Outlaw. Billy the Kid, Kid Antrim, Henry; he went by many names, but whatever you call him, this gunslinging American legend made himself iconic in his 21 years on earth. Nov 12, 2023 • By Kassandre Dwyer, M.Ed History. Outlaws were an integral part of American history; their role in ...
- He was orphaned at age 15. The boy who would become known as Billy the Kid, Henry McCarty, had a turbulent childhood. He was born to Catherine and Patrick McCarty in late 1859.
- His first crime was stealing food. Henry was able to secure a room and board in exchange for work at a boarding house. One year after his mother died, on 16 September 1875, he was caught stealing food.
- His descent into lawlessness was rapid. McCarty escaped two days after being jailed and became a fugitive, as reported at the time by the Silver City Herald.
- He joined a gang of rustlers. Having fled Arizona for New Mexico and lost his horse to Apaches, Billy the Kid arrived at Fort Stanton in a sorry state.
William Henry McCarty, Jr. was only 21 years of age when he died of a gunshot wound at Ft. Sumner in the New Mexico Territory. He had several aliases but is best known as Billy the Kid. He was only 18 when he killed his first man. No one knows for certain where Billy the Kid was born.
Jan 18, 2023 · Why is Billy the Kid famous? In a time of lawlessness and celebrity criminals, Billy the Kid’s notoriety towers over other train-robbing, pistol-twirling, posse-evading bandits of the Wild West. He appealed to writers of dime novels and editors of newspapers, thanks to his blue-eyed youth and silky sharpshooting skills.
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