John Henry Holliday
Doc Holliday - Gambler and Gunman
John Henry Holliday was born on August 14, 1851 in Griffin, Georgia. His father, Henry was a pharmacist but later became a wealthy planter and lawyer and during the Civil War, a Confederate major. Young Holliday suffered a major blow when his mother died and his father remarried a mere three months later.
After the family moved to Valdosta, Georgia, Holliday chose to pursue dentistry and enrolled in the College of Dental Surgery in Philadelphia in 1870. He graduated on March 1, 1872 and opened a practice in Atlanta with Dr. Arthur C. Ford.
Shortly after establishing his practice, “Doc” Holliday contracted tuberculosis. The general consensus was that a dry climate would extend his life by a few months, so he packed his belongings and headed west.
In Dallas, Texas, in October of 1873, he became an associate of Dr. John A. Seegar. Holliday’s dental business gradually declined because of his coughing fits in the middle of operations and he was forced to find other means to support himself.
Doc Holliday Turns to Gambling
Holliday turned to gambling and quickly discovered that he would be forced to protect himself. He became adept at faro and poker and established a reputation as a bad man with a gun.
In 1875, he was involved in a pistol discussion and arrested for the first time. Holliday became a drifter, never staying in one place too long, usually leaving dead men in his wake.
In Fort Griffin, Texas, Holliday met Mary Katherine Michael, more popularly known as “Big Nose” Kate. At some point during his wanderings, he married Kate and she would remain by his side until his death.
Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp
The popular legend is that while in Dodge City, Kansas, he saved the life of Wyatt Earp by disarming a cowboy who drew a gun on Earp from behind. Although it is unclear exactly when this incident took place, it nevertheless cemented their friendship.
In 1880, Holliday followed Earp to Tombstone, Arizona, becoming an embarrassment for the lawman who was forced to arrest him on several occasions.
Regardless, Holliday stood by Wyatt Earp during the gunfight at the O.K. Corral and the subsequent vendetta that followed. He left Tombstone in 1882 along with Earp.
Holliday drifted for several years, living the life of a frontier gambler while his disease steadily worsened.
In 1887, his tuberculosis progressed to the point that he was forced to enter the sanitarium at Glenwood Springs, Colorado and he passed away in November of that year at age 36.
Kate Holliday later remarried, eventually writing a personal account of her life with Doc Holliday.
- "He was the most skillful gambler, and the nerviest, fastest, deadliest man with a six-gun I ever saw." -- Wyatt Earp
- John Henry “Doc” Holliday is the fourth cousin, once removed of John Wesley Hardin.
Sources:
American West.com Retrieved on 2/26/09.
Kansas Heritage.org Retrieved on 2/26/09.
Lamar, Howard R, ed. The New Encyclopedia of the American West. New Haven and London, Yale University Press.
What do you think about this article?
More in History
Latest Articles