William H. Bonney aka Billy the Kid was born on this day back in 1859. His actual true life story is hard to separate from the myth. A relative unknown during his own lifetime, he was catapulted into legend the year after his death when his killer, Sheriff Pat Garrett, along with co-author M.A. "Ash" Upson, published a sensationalistic biography titled 'The Authentic Life of Billy, the Kid'.According to legend, he killed 21 men, but he is generally accepted to have killed between four and nine.
As a historian the truth is the most important thing but as a fan of a tall tale sometimes I don't want to believe it.
