John Wesley Hardin

Cowboy, Deceased Person

1853 – 1895

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Who was John Wesley Hardin?

John Wesley Hardin was an American outlaw, gunfighter, and controversial folk icon of the Old West. Hardin found himself in trouble with the law at an early age, and spent the majority of his life being pursued by both local lawmen and federal troops of the reconstruction era. He often used the residences of family and friends to hide out from the law. Hardin is known to have had at least one encounter with the well-known lawman, "Wild Bill" Hickok. When he was finally captured and sent to prison in 1878, Hardin claimed to have already killed 42 men, but newspapers of the era had attributed only 27 killings to him up to that point. While in prison, Hardin wrote a factually slanted autobiography, and studied law. He was released in 1894. In August 1895, Hardin was shot to death by John Selman, Sr. in the Acme Saloon, in El Paso, Texas.

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Born
May 26, 1853
Bonham
Spouses
Profession
Lived in
  • Texas
  • El Paso
Died
Aug 19, 1895
El Paso

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

Citation

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