Billy Clanton
Billy Clanton | |
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Billy Clanton (right) in his coffin with the McLaury brothers beside him | |
| Born | William Harrison Clanton 1862 Hamilton County, Texas, C.S. |
| Died | October 26, 1881 (aged 18–19) |
| Cause of death | Gunshot wounds |
| Occupations | Ranch hand, miner, rustler |
| Parent(s) | Newman Haynes Clanton and Mariah Sexton Kelso |
| O.K. Corral gunfight |
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| Principal events |
| Lawmen |
| Outlaw Cowboys |
William Harrison Clanton (1862 – October 26, 1881) was an American outlaw who was a member of the Cochise County Cowboys in the Arizona Territory. He, along with his father Newman Clanton and brother Ike Clanton, worked a ranch near the boomtown of Tombstone and stole livestock from Mexico and American ranchers.
He was a member of a group of loosely organized outlaws who had ongoing conflicts with lawmen Wyatt, Virgil, and Morgan Earp. The Clantons repeatedly threatened the Earps because they interfered with the Cowboys' illegal activities. On October 26, 1881, Billy, Tom McLaury, and Frank McLaury were killed in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in the town of Tombstone. His brother Ike was unarmed and ran from the gunfight. The shootout was his only gunfight. Ike filed murder charges against the Earps, who were later exonerated as having acted within their duty as lawmen.