Legend of Billy the Kid

The legend of Billy the Kid has acquired iconic status in American folklore. More has been written about Billy the Kid than any other gunslinger in the history of the American Old West, while hundreds of books, films, plays, and radio and television programs have been inspired by his legend. Despite his enduring reputation, the outlaw himself, also known as William Bonney, had minimal impact on historical events in New Mexico Territory of the late 19th century.

When he was still alive, "Billy the Kid" had already become a nationally known figure whose exploits, real and imaginary, were reported in the National Police Gazette and the large newspapers of the eastern United States. After his death on July 14, 1881, every newspaper in New York City published his obituary, and within days newspapers around the United States were printing exaggerated and romanticized accounts of Billy the Kid's short career. In the fifteen or so dime novels about his criminal career published between 1881 and 1906, the Kid was portrayed as an outlaw antihero, customarily depicted as a badman with superior gunslinging skills, or even as a demonic agent of Satan who delighted in murder.