John Henry "Doc" Holliday (Griffin, Georgia, August 14, 1851 – Glenwood Springs, Colorado, November 8, 1887) was an American gambler, gunfighter, and dentist, and a good friend of Wyatt Earp. He is best known for his role as a temporary deputy marshal in the events leading up to and following the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
At age 21 Holliday earned a degree in dentistry from the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery. He set up practice in Atlanta, Georgia, but he was soon diagnosed with tuberculosis,
the same disease that had claimed his mother when he was 15, having
acquired it while tending to her needs while she was still in the
contagious phase of the illness. Hoping the climate in the American Southwest
would ease his symptoms, he moved to that region and became a gambler, a
reputable profession in Arizona in that day. Over the next few years,
he reportedly had several confrontations. While in Texas, he saved Wyatt Earp's life and they became friends. In 1880, he joined Earp in Las Vegas, New Mexico and then rode with him to Prescott, Arizona, and then Tombstone. In Tombstone, local members of the outlaw Cochise County Cowboys gang repeatedly threatened him and spread rumors that he had robbed a stage. On October 26, 1881, Holliday was deputized by Tombstone city marshal Virgil Earp. The lawmen attempted to disarm five members of the Cowboys, which resulted in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
Following the Tombstone shootout, Virgil Earp was maimed by hidden assailants and Morgan Earp
was murdered. Unable to obtain justice in the courts, Wyatt Earp took
matters into his own hands. As the recently appointed deputy U.S.
marshal, Earp formally deputized Holliday, among others. As a federal
posse, they pursued the outlaw Cowboys they believed were responsible. They found Frank Stilwell lying in wait
as Virgil boarded a train for California and killed him. The local
sheriff issued a warrant for the arrest of five members of the federal
posse, including Holliday. The federal posse killed three other Cowboys
during late March and early April, 1882, before they rode to the New Mexico Territory. Wyatt Earp learned of an extradition request for Holliday and arranged for Colorado Governor Frederick Walker Pitkin
to deny Holliday's extradition. Holliday spent the few remaining years
of his life in Colorado, and died of tuberculosis in his bed at the
Glenwood Springs Hotel at age of 36.
Holliday's colorful life and character have been depicted in many
books and portrayed by well-known actors in numerous movies and
television series. Since his death, researchers have concluded that,
contrary to popular myth-making, Holliday killed only one or two men.
in Wikipédia
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