Doc holliday biography gambler
Doc Holliday
Gambler, gunfighter, and dentist in the American West (1851–1887)
This article is about the American historical figure. For other uses, see Doc Holliday (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with the American baseball pitcher Roy Halladay, nicknamed "Doc" in reference to Holliday.
Doc Holliday | |
|---|---|
Autographed portrait, Prescott, Arizona, c. 1879 | |
| Born | John Henry Holliday August 14, 1851 Griffin, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | November 8, 1887(1887-11-08) (aged 36) Glenwood Springs, Colorado, U.S. |
| Resting place | Pioneer Cemetery (a.k.a. Linwood Cemetery), Glenwood Springs, Colorado, U.S. 39°32′22″N107°19′9″W / 39.53944°N 107.31917°W / 39.53944; -107.31917 (Pioneer Cemetery) |
| Education | Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery |
| Occupation(s) | Dentist, professional gambler, gunfighter |
| Known for | Gunfight at the O.K. Corral Earp Vendetta Ride |
| Spouse | "Big Nose" Kate Horony (common-law wife) (m. 1877–1882) |
John Henry Holliday (August 14, 1851 – November 8, 1887), better known as Doc Holliday, was an American dentist, gambler, and gunfighter who was a close friend and associate of lawmanWyatt Earp. Holliday is best known for his role in the events surrounding and his participation in the gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona. He developed a reputation as having killed more than a dozen men in various altercations, but modern researchers have concluded that, contrary to popular myth-making, Holliday killed only one to three men. Holliday's colorful life and character have been depicted in many books and portrayed by well-known actors in numerous movies and television series.
At age 20, Holliday earned a degree in dentistry from the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery. He set up practice in Griffin, Georgia, but he was soon diagnose For most of his adult life, the Old West gambler and gunslinger John Henry ‘Doc’ Holliday (1851-87) had a reputation for violence. When he died of chronic pulmonary tuberculosis on 8 November 1887, aged 36, he was popularly reported as having killed anywhere between eight, 17 and 30 men. Journalists, though, were amazed to find him ‘as different as could be from the generally conceived idea of a killer’. Holliday was a ‘frail and harmless looking specimen’ not in the least ‘resembling the fancy caricature of a border desperado’. Small, ‘childlike’ and ‘almost fragile in appearance’, he was also ‘scrupulously neat’ and ‘beautifully’ dressed in the ‘latest style’. Confronted with such a puzzling combination of waif-like frailty and cold ferocity, the Omaha Daily Bee tried to sum him up as ‘a mild-mannered frontier angel, who has started a graveyard in every frontier town he has graced with his presence’. Doc Holliday: The Perennial Sidekick
Biography of Doc Holliday, Wild West Legend
Doc Holliday (born John Henry Holliday, August 14, 1851—November 8, 1887) was an American gunfighter, gambler, and dentist. A friend of fellow gunslinger and lawman Wyatt Earp, Holliday became an iconic character of the American Wild West through his role in the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Despite his reputation for having gunned down “dozens” of men, more recent research suggests Holliday killed no more than two men. Over the years, Holliday’s character and life have been depicted in many movies and television series.
Fast Facts: Doc Holliday
- Full Name: John Henry (Doc) Holliday
- Known For: Old West American gambler, gunfighter, and dentist. Friend of Wyatt Earp
- Born: August 14, 1851, in Griffin, Georgia
- Died: November 8, 1887, in Glenwood Springs, Colorado
- Parents: Henry Holliday and Alice Jane (McKey) Holliday
- Education: Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery, D.D.S. Degree, 1872
- Key Accomplishments: Fought beside Wyatt Earp against the Clanton Gang in the Gunfight at the OK Corral. Accompanied Wyatt Earp on his Vendetta Ride
- Spouse: "Big Nose" Kate Horony (common-law)
- Famous Quote: “All I want of you is ten paces out in the street.” (to gunfighter Johnny Ringo).
Early Life and Education
Doc Holliday was born on August 14, 1851, in Griffin, Georgia, to Henry Holliday and Alice Jane (McKey) Holliday. A veteran of both the Mexican–American War and the Civil War, Henry Holliday taught his son to shoot. In 1864, the family moved to Valdosta, Georgia, where Doc attended first through tenth grade at the private Valdosta Institute. Considered an outstanding student, Holliday excelled at rhetoric, grammar, mathematics, history, and Latin.
In 1870, the 19-year-old Holliday moved to Philadelphia, where he received a Doctor
Doc Holliday
(1851-1887)
Who Was Doc Holliday?
A dentist by trade, Doc Holliday became an icon of the American West and was close friends with fellow gunslinger Wyatt Earp. They were the two most famous faces in what is regarded as the most legendary battle of the West: the gunfight at the O.K. Corral, which cemented Holliday's status as a legend.
Early Years
John Henry ("Doc") Holliday was born August 14, 1851, in Griffin, Georgia. His birth was a celebrated event for his parents, Henry Burroughs Holliday and Alice Jane Holliday, who just a year before had buried their first child, an infant daughter.
He hailed from middle-class stock. His father made his living as a druggist in Griffin, a booming Georgia city that had become a central point for the South's most important export: cotton.
Holliday was adored by his parents, particularly his mother. Born with a cleft palate, Holliday had undergone corrective surgery, but his speech needed considerable work. Ever mindful of her son's condition and what others might say of his birth condition or the way he talked, she spent hours working with him to correct his speech. In addition, she imparted to her son the Southern etiquette and manners that would forever reflect his demeanor.
By all accounts, Holliday was a bright student who excelled at school. His devotion to his books accelerated in 1866 when his mother died of tuberculosis. Her death devastated Holliday, and he poured himself into math and science as a way to cope with her loss.
In 1870, Holliday moved to Philadelphia to attend what is now called the University of Pennsylvania Dental School, where he graduated in 1872.
New Life Out West
For a time, Holliday returned to the South to begin his dental career. But at the age of 23, he fled to Dallas, Texas. The reason for this abrupt move isn't entirely clear, but historical research strongly suggests that Holliday, who'd contracted tuberculosis, thought he'd fare better in the drier air