James Butler Hickok (27 May 1837 -2 August 1876) better known as Wild Bill Hickok, was a legendary figure in the American Wild West. He is remembered as a gunfighter, gambler and lawman.
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| early 1860's |
Born and raised on a farm in Illinois, his parents were William Alonzo and Polly Butler Hickok. James Hickok went west at age 18 as a fugitive from justice. He had many jobs: a stagecoach driver, a lawman in the frontier territories of Kansas and Nebraska, a soldier in the Union Army during the American Civil War, a war scout, marksman, actor, and professional gambler.
Hickok was involved in several notable shootouts. He was shot from behind and killed at the age of 39 while playing poker in a saloon in Deadwood, Dakota Territory. The card hand he held at the time of his death (aces and eights) is called the "Dead Man's Hand".
RESOURCES:
Nebraska State Historical Society
The Memoirs of Wild Bill Hickok
Wild Bill Hickok: The Man and His Myth
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