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gambler. horse thief. outlaw. 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.
- The Authentic Life of Billy, The Kid
During the summer of 1881 in a small New Mexican village,...
- Brushy Bill Roberts
Brushy Bill Roberts (August 26, 1879 – December 27, 1950;...
- Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid
Plot. In 1909, near Las Cruces, New Mexico, Pat Garrett is...
- Fort Sumner, New Mexico
Fort Sumner is a village in and the county seat of De Baca...
- John Tunstall
John Henry Tunstall (6 March 1853 – 18 February 1878) was an...
- Lincoln County War
The Lincoln County War was an Old West conflict between...
- The Authentic Life of Billy, The Kid
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. See all related content →.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
The Kid assumes the alias William H. Bonney. He is arrested and jailed in Lincoln County for possessing horses belonging to cattleman John Tunstall.
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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.
May 18, 2018 · William H. Bonney, known as Billy the Kid (1859-1881), was the prototype of the American western gunslinger. He was the youngest and most convincing of the folk hero-villains. On Nov. 23, 1859, William Bonney was born in New York City but moved as a young lad to Kansas.
Nov 12, 2023 · Later that year, in 1877, Billy adopted his most recognizable alias, William H. Bonney, though “Billy the Kid” was often his moniker in the press. He seemed unable to stay out of trouble in New Mexico and was soon arrested and jailed in his new home, Lincoln County, for stealing horses from a powerful local man named John Tunstall .
Facts. The only authenticated photograph of William H. Bonney, the notorious Kid. Born. November 23, 1859. Died. July 14, 1881. Aliases. William H. Bonney, Henry Antrim. Early Life. William was considered a very honest 14-year-old when he became an orphan. He worked for his room and board for a hotel owner who took him in after his mother died.