James Butler Wild Bill Hickok Events

1837 May 27 James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok Born
Frontiersman, lawman, army scout, gambler, and legendary marksman James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok was born on May 27, 1837, in Troy Grove, Illinois. As a youth, Hickok became acquainte...
1857 James Butler 'Wild Bill' Hickok Meets William 'Buffalo Bill' Cody
In 1855, at the age of 18, Hickok moved to Kansas Territory following a fight with Charles Hudson, which resulted in both falling into a canal. Mistakenly thinking he had killed Hudson, H...
1861 James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok Joins the Pony Express
Rock Creek Station was known as a "road ranch" to early western travelers, and when the Pony Express started in 1860, it was a logical site for a home station. In the spring of 1861, Jame...
1861 Apr James Butler 'Wild Bill' Hickok Joins the Union Army
When the Civil War broke out in April 1861, Hickok signed on as a teamster for the Union Army in Sedalia, Missouri, and by the end of the year he was a wagonmaster. In September 1862 he w...
1861 Jul 12 McCanles Incident
In 1861 he ['Wild Bill' Hickok] was involved in a deadly shootout with the McCanles Gang at the Rock Creek Station after 40-year-old David McCanles, his 12-year-old son (William) Monroe ...
1865 Jul 21 James Butler 'Wild Bill' Hickok Kills Davis Tutt, Jr. In First Recorded Quick Draw Gunfight
Hickok's reputation as a gunfighter began when he killed David Tutt in the public square of Springfield on 21st July, 1865. The two men had quarrelled over cards and decided to have a gun...
1869 Aug 23 James Butler 'Wild Bill' Hickok is Elected Sheriff of Ellis County, Kansas
In July 1869, Hickok was back in Hays and was elected sheriff and city marshal of Ellis County, Kansas, in a special election, on August 23, 1869. The county was having particular difficu...
1870 Jul 17 James Butler 'Wild Bill' Hickok Kills a 7th Cavalry Soldier in Gunfight at Paddy Welch's Bar
Unemployed, Hickok passed his time gambling, drinking, and occasionally working as a hunting guide. He quickly became bored and was considering taking work at the nearby Fort Hays as an a...
1871 Oct 5 James Butler 'Wild Bill' Hickok Kills Two Men During a Street Brawl
While working in Abilene, Hickok and Phil Coe, a saloon owner, had an ongoing dispute that later resulted in a shootout. Coe had been the business partner of known gunman Ben Thompson, wi...
1872 Dec Buffalo Bill Makes Stage Debut in 'The Scouts of the Prairie'
In December 1872 Cody traveled to Chicago to make his stage debut with friend Texas Jack Omohundro in The Scouts of the Prairie, one of the original Wild West shows produced by Ned Buntli...
1876 James Butler 'Wild Bill' Hickok Meets 'Calamity Jane' Cannary
In 1876, Calamity Jane settled in the area of Deadwood, South Dakota, in the Black Hills. There, she became friends with, and was occasionally employed by, Dora DuFran, the Black Hills' l...
1876 Mar 5 James Butler 'Wild Bill' Hickok Marries Agnes Thatcher Lake
"Wild Bill of western fame has conquered numerous Indians, outlaws, bears and buffaloes, but a charming widow has stolen the magic wand. The scepter has departed and he is as meek and gent..." —Cheyenne Daily Sun, March 8, 1876
1876 Jul James Butler 'Wild Bill' Hickok Arrives in Deadwood, South Dakota
The arrival of Hickok in wide-open early Deadwood was viewed with a mix of curiosity and distrust by those already there. What was the “famous” Wild Bill doing in Deadwood? Local bosses w...
1876 Aug 2 James Butler 'Wild Bill' Hickok is Shot by Jack McCall During a Poker Game
On August 2, 1876, Hickok was playing poker at Nuttal & Mann's Saloon No. 10 in Deadwood, in the Black Hills, Dakota Territory. On this fateful day Wild Bill violated one of his own cardi...
1877 Mar 1 Jack McCall is Hung for the Murder of James Butler 'Wild Bill' Hickok
"As I write the closing lines of this brief sketch, word reaches me that the slayer of Wild Bill has been re-arrested by the United State authorities, and after trial has been sentenced to..." —Leander Richardson