Mariam Banoub
Barbara Mera
Emma Ryan
Julius Bonello
Peoria, Illinois, United States

Throughout history, tuberculosis (TB) has been known by names such as the white plague, king’s evil, consumption, and scrofula. Estimates state TB has claimed the lives of up to five billion people throughout human history. While COVID-19 temporarily claimed the title of the world’s most lethal disease from 2020–2022, TB reclaimed this grim distinction in 2023, killing more than one million people that year alone.

Before the development of multidrug antibiotic regimens, 80% of infected individuals died from tuberculosis. For most afflicted people, the persistent cough accompanied by bloody sputum and weight loss represented a virtual death sentence. Since cold or wet weather worsened symptoms, patients were often advised to relocate to warmer, drier climates—a desperate attempt at treatment. One man whose life was profoundly shaped by TB’s crippling effects was John Henry “Doc” Holliday.

Holliday was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on August 14, 1851. Born with a cleft palate and lip, he underwent corrective surgery at eight weeks old. Although the procedure was successful and the scar healed well, Holliday was left with a slight speech impediment and facial scarring that he would later conceal with a mustache. When Holliday was ten years old, his family relocated to Valdosta, Georgia, in preparation for the impending Civil War. Despite the hardships brought by the war, Holliday was able to attend dental school in 1870 with his family’s support.

Holliday graduated near the top of his class from the Philadelphia College of Dentistry. In the summer of 1872, he returned home and established a dental practice. However, the winter brought a persistent cough accompanied by weight loss. Shortly thereafter, a local physician diagnosed Holliday with advanced tuberculosis and advised him to travel west for a healthier climate. Little did John know that his tranquil life would soon take a dramatic turn, launching him onto a tumultuous path that would cement his place in Old West history, lore, and legend.

Seeking the warmer, drier climate his doctor recommended, Holliday moved to Dallas, Texas, in September 1873, where he initially continued his successful dental practice. Unfortunately, his professional success quickly declined due to his excessive coughing and patients’ fears of contracting the disease. Desperate to supplement his dwindling income, Holliday turned to gambling. With his superior mathematical knowledge and prior gambling experience, he became quite skilled at the gaming tables, earning himself a regular spot at the nearby St.vCharles Saloon. As his reputation as a respected and successful gambler grew, Holliday also began drinking heavily.

The combination of alcoholism and gambling led him to abandon his dental practice entirely in 1874, making gambling his primary occupation. The following years proved tumultuous—Holliday found himself involved in multiple shooting incidents, was charged with assault (though not convicted), and continued battling his relentless illness. He quickly relocated to Denver, Colorado, under a pseudonym to avoid litigation.

His stay in Denver was brief. When news broke of gold discoveries in the Dakota Territory, Holliday recognized that the area would soon be flooded with prospectors, miners, and especially gamblers—as typically happened around the nouveau riche. Thus, he set out for Deadwood, where he spent the winter of 1876.

He soon abandoned his Deadwood venture and returned to Fort Griffin, Texas, in the summer of 1877. During this journey, Holliday was wounded in another shooting. Despite establishing a dental office in Fort Griffin, he met two people who would forever alter his fate: twenty-six-year-old Mary Catherine Haroney, known as “Big-Nosed Kate”—a dance hall entertainer and prostitute—and Wyatt Earp. Haroney and Holliday would remain together for the rest of their lives, while Earp’s friendship would eventually secure Holliday’s place in the history books.

Despite maintaining his Fort Griffin dental office, Holliday remained heavily involved in gambling. During one game, he caught another player cheating, leading to a violent brawl. Holliday stabbed the cheater in the chest and was subsequently arrested and placed under house arrest at the Fort Griffin Hotel. To save her lover, Haroney set fire to a nearby building as a diversion while helping Holliday escape. Soon after, they fled to Dodge City, Kansas, to evade the law.

Continuing his wayward lifestyle, Holliday persisted with gambling and drinking. One evening, while out with his friend Earp, they found themselves surrounded by a band of intoxicated cowboys. In a matter of seconds, one cowboy drew his gun on Earp with deadly intent, but Holliday quickly intervened, shooting the would-be assassin dead and saving his friend’s life. This incident solidified their friendship.

As Holliday’s health continued to deteriorate, he and Haroney moved to Las Vegas in the New Mexico territory, where they attempted to reestablish a dental practice. Similar to his previous experiences, the business quickly failed due to his alcohol-laden breath and bloody cough.

During Earp’s visit in 1879, he witnessed Holliday’s failing practice firsthand. Earp convinced both Holliday and Haroney to accompany him and his wife to Tombstone, Arizona. Before departing, however, Holliday was involved in yet another shooting with a fellow gambler.

Upon arriving in Tombstone, Holliday quickly reverted to his old habits and became involved in a shooting that left him permanently wounded in the leg, requiring him to use a cane for the remainder of his life. However, all these shootings and brawls paled in comparison to the event that occurred on October 26, 1881. Through his close friendship with Earp and his family, Holliday became embroiled in the Earp family conflict. Earp had two brothers, Morgan and Virgil, who served as town marshals and were engaged in a long-standing feud with the Clanton gang known as the “Cowboys.” At the height of their hostility, Earp, accompanied by his brothers and Holliday, confronted the Clantons near the O.K. Corral to disarm them. This encounter would become one of the most legendary shootouts in American history.

At approximately 4 p.m., shots were fired. Thirty seconds later, three members of the Clanton gang lay dead, two of the Earp brothers were wounded, and Holliday stood unscathed with a shotgun in hand, having killed one gang member himself.

Following the shootout, the Earps and Holliday were all charged with murder but were exonerated after multiple court hearings. Despite their legal vindication, they agreed it was time to move on and start fresh. Holliday chose to return to Denver with his beloved Kate. For a brief period, he returned to gambling, but as his health rapidly deteriorated, he was forced to retire from even that occupation.

In a final attempt to recover his health, he traveled to Glenwood Springs, Colorado, hoping its renowned healing waters might cure his ailing condition. But on the night of November 8, 1887, John Henry “Doc” Holliday died peacefully at the age of thirty-six. Though his life was unexpectedly long for someone with advanced tuberculosis in that era, he left an indelible mark on American history and folklore.

References

• Linder, SA. “When the Dealing’s Done: John H. (Doc) Holliday and the Evolution of a Western Myth.” JOW 47 (April 1998): 53-60. 
• Ross, R. “Doc Holliday: Gun totin’ dentist of the Wild West.” Dental History (Nov 2001): 30-44.