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Apr 17, 2024 · William H. Bonney, Jr. Original name: Henry McCarty? Born: November 23, 1859?, New York, New York, U.S. Died: July 14, 1881, Fort Sumner, New Mexico. 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.
Henry McCarty (September 17 or November 23, 1859 – July 14, 1881), alias William H. Bonney, better known as Billy the Kid, was an American outlaw and gunfighter of the Old West who is alleged to have killed 21 men before he was shot and killed at the age of 21.
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- He was orphaned as a teen. 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.
- The Kid’s first arrest came for stealing clothes from a laundry. 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.
- He played a prominent role in a frontier feud. 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 Kid never robbed a train or a bank. Billy The Kid shooting down his foe who had taken refuge behind a saloon bar. 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 Kid assumes the alias William H. Bonney. He is arrested and jailed in Lincoln County for possessing horses belonging to cattleman John Tunstall.
May 2, 2007 · He was using the name William H. Bonney, but everyone called him “Kid.” No more than 20 years old, probably younger, Kid had experienced a lot of action in his short life. The Lincoln County War was over, and he was wandering about eastern New Mexico and the Texas Panhandle, making a nuisance of himself with the cattlemen of the area.
Even his name is uncertain. But most historians agree that Henry McCarty a.k.a. William H. Bonney a.k.a. Billy the Kid was born in New York City to Irish parents around 1860.
Apr 9, 2015 · On this day, April 9, in 1881, the outlaw who was born Henry McCarty before adopting the alias William H. Bonney — better known as Billy the Kid — was found guilty of murdering the sheriff of...
