U.S. History: Biographies

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Billy the Kid

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

Billy the Kid 1859–81, American outlaw, b. New York City. His real name was probably Henry McCarty; he was known as William H. Bonney. His family moved to Kansas and then to New Mexico when he was a child. He frequented saloons and gambling halls and killed several men during his teens. In 1878 he led a gang in the Lincoln co. cattle war, killed two deputies, and engaged in large-scale cattle rustling. John S. Chisum and other cattlemen secured (1880) the election of a new sheriff sworn to rid the country of the cattle thieves. Billy the Kid was captured, tried, and sentenced to death. He escaped but was again trapped and was shot by Sheriff Pat F. Garrett.

Bibliography: See biographies by P. F. Garrett (1882, repr. 1967), R. N. Mullin (1967), C. A. Siringo (1967), and C. W. Breihan (1970).

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Billy the Kid

The Oxford Companion to American Literature | 1995 | | Copyright

Billy the Kid, sobriquet of William H. Bonney (1859–81), desperado of the Southwest, who was a leader in the Lincoln County cattle war in New Mexico. His subsequent career of wholesale cattle stealing brought his score of murders to 21 before he was finally killed by a sheriff. The Kid is the subject of many stories and ballads, and he has been apotheosized in dime novels and serious fiction.

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James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Billy the Kid." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Billy the Kid." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-BillytheKid.html

James D. Hart and and Phillip W. Leininger. "Billy the Kid." The Oxford Companion to American Literature. 1995. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O123-BillytheKid.html

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Billy the Kid

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | Copyright

Billy the Kid (1859–81) ( William H. Bonney) US frontier outlaw. Bonney is traditionally blamed for 21 murders, but there is no evidence for this figure. In 1878 he killed a sheriff and led a gang of cattle rustlers. Bonney was sentenced in 1880. He escaped from jail, but was caught and killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett.

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"Billy the Kid." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"Billy the Kid." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-BillytheKid.html

"Billy the Kid." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-BillytheKid.html

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

	Football: IT LOOKS ROSE FOR BILLY KIDS; INTERNATIONAL SPECIAL... Young Scots... Newspaper article from: Daily Record (Glasgow, Scotland); 2/7/2008
	Outlaw Billy has kids on his side. Newspaper article from: Daily Mail (London); 7/23/2001
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