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Billy Clanton

William Harrison "Billy" Clanton (1862-26 October 1881) was an American outlaw of the Wild West and a member of the Cochise County Cowboys. He was killed during the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in 1881.

Biography[]

William Harrison Clanton was born in Hamilton County, Texas in 1862, the son of Newman Haynes Clanton and the brother of Ike Clanton. He was raised on the family ranch in Charleston, Arizona, and Billy followed his older brother in joining the Cochise County Cowboys outlaw gang. While Ike was widely disliked for being a drunk and a braggart, Billy was seen as hard-working and level-headed. The Clantons took part in shootouts with Mexican rural police who wandered into the Arizona Territory, and they also raided ranchos in the Sonora and brought back rustled cattle to sell in Tombstone. On 26 October 1881, however, the Cowboys' feud with the Earp brothers came to a head when Billy and a few other Cowboys were found entering the town while openly carrying weapons, which violated a recent town regulation. The Earps went in to disarm the Cowboys at the O.K. Corral, but the ensuing scuffle devolved into a shootout. Billy, Tom McLaury, and Frank McLaury were killed, while Ike Clanton and Billy Claiborne escaped.


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