Brief

John Henry “Doc” Holliday (August 14, 1851 – November 8, 1887) was an American gambler, gunfighter, and dentist who is one of the most iconic participants of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

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Holliday earned his dentist degree from the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery and set up his first practice in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1873 he was diagnosed with tuberculosis, the same disease which claimed his mother when he was 15. He moved to the American Southwest hoping the climate would help his condition. He became a gambler and a deadly gunman. During his travels, he met and became a good friend of Wyatt Earp and his brothers. In 1880, he moved to Tombstone, Arizona, and fought alongside the Earps at the O.K. Corral.

Actually, the gunfight did not occur at the O.K. Corral, but in a vacant lot between the C.S. Fly photography Studio and the Harwood house along Fremont Street. The fight failed to settle matters between the two sides, and Holliday was embroiled in ensuing shootouts and killings. He successfully fought being extradited for murder and died in bed at a Colorado hotel at the age of 36.

For the 125-plus years since his death, the debate continues about the exact number of men he killed, but it’s generally believed that Holliday killed between three to seven men while participating in nine shootouts.