Billy the Kid was an American outlaw who was one of the most notorious gunfighters of the American West. He was born on September 23, 1859, in New York City, and his real name is disputed. As a child, he migrated with his parents to Kansas, where his father died, and then to Colorado, where his mother remarried. In his early teens, Billy fell into a career of thievery and lawlessness, wandering throughout the Southwest and northern Mexico, often with gangs. He became a fugitive after shooting Lincoln County Sheriff William Brady and one of his deputies. In December 1880, he was captured by Sheriff Pat Garrett and stood trial for murder in Mesilla, New Mexico, in April 1881. He was found guilty and sentenced to hang, but he escaped jail on April 28, killing two deputies, and remained at large until tracked down and ambushed by Garrett, who shot him dead on the evening of July 14 at the ranch home of Pete Maxwell.

After his death, legends grew that Billy the Kid had survived, and a number of men claimed to be him. However, scholarly opinion is divided over whether Billy the Kids real name was Henry McCarty or William H. Bonney, Jr.. Another hypothesis is that Billy the Kid was in fact Ollie L. (“Brushy Bill”) Roberts, who escaped, lived in Mexico and the U.S. Southwest, rode in Wild West shows, and died in 1950 in Texas.

In conclusion, Billy the Kid was killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett on July 14, 1881, at the ranch home of Pete Maxwell in Fort Sumner, New Mexico.