Introduction:

         John Henry “Doc” Holiday was an infamous gambler and outlaw, known for his reputation as one of the many men who was involved within the shooting at the O.K Corral.[1] As a close friend to Wyatt Earp, Holiday found himself a fugitive, and an outlaw on the wrong side of the law, and by the time of his death from tuberculosis in Glenwood Springs, Colorado in the year 1887, at only 36 years of age, Holiday had formed a reputation that proceeded his short life span.

            Holiday stands as an example of the typical outlaws who ran through the areas of Texas and Arizona, yet he also represents a more somber reminder on the struggle with tuberculosis that was rampant within the regions of Colorado, Arizona, and Texas, at this time. 

                                                                                          Life and Education

     John Henry Holiday was born August 14^th, 1851, in Giffen, Georgia into a well-to-do family. His parents were Henry Burroughs Holliday and Alice Jane (McKey) Holliday.[2]  Holiday grew up within the southern regions within America and aspired to become a dentist. Holiday’s life was hit hard, however, when, at the age of 15, his mother who was struggling with tuberculosis had passed away from this disease. At this time, tuberculosis was one of the main diseases within families, and could be easily transmitted within the contagious stage.[3]  Holiday was exposed to his mother’s tuberculosis and became infected with this disease around the age of 16. This did not stop him, however, from attending the Pennsylvania School of Dentistry and though Holiday was said to have obtained his dentistry license from his attendance at this school, the records on file show that Holiday was practicing dentistry with no license to do so and was wanted for this very crime early-on in his career.[4] Doc Holiday soon made a profession out of his gambling days and began to involve himself in the criminal  affairs of the Earp brothers, to include the shootout at O.K. Corral, in which Doc Holiday is said to have killed 1-to-3 men during this encounter.[5]  It was the hard days of fighting and gambling in the Texas and Arizona heat and humidity that must have played havoc on Holiday’s already tuberculosis stricken lungs, and at the age of 35, Holiday made his way to Glenwood Springs, Colorado to seek refuge from his illness, and perhaps recover in the dry airs of the Colorado region.

                                                                         Holiday’s Death in Glenwood Springs, Colorado

At the age of 35, Holiday was struggling to keep healthy with his drastic lifestyle, and by then the tuberculosis had come back into his system. Many times, the tuberculosis disease would lay dormant for years once the individual had contracted the illness, leading them to believe that they had recovered, however, it would become active once again and the individual’s health would decline rapidly. Holiday was said to have gone to the area due to the reputation of Colorado as being a tuberculosis “haven” for those struggling with the disease.[6] Little did the sunshine and dry air do for Holiday’s condition, and soon he found himself in the weakest state that he had been before. Taking his refuge in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, Holiday died on November 8^th, 1887, at the age of 36-years of age and is buried on a large hill in Glenwood Springs, Colorado-Linwood Cemetery.[7] His last words will forever be remembered and repeated among those in Glenwood Springs, as being, “This is funny.” [8]

                                                                                      Bibliography:

Primary:

"Be It Known-Doc Holiday is Practicing Dentistry without a License in Arizona Territory.” (1881) Glenwood Springs Archives. Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Accessed June 2nd, 2022.

Holliday, Tanner-Karen, and Robert K. DeArment. Doc Holliday: a Family Portrait. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1998.

"Interview with Virgil Earp Arizona Daily Star,” Arizona Affairs. (May 30, 1882.) Archived April 28, 2009. Retrieved June 5th, 2022. Originally published in the Arizona Daily Star on May 30, 1882. Glenwood Springs; Colorado Historical Society.

 “John Henry Holiday Family Genealogy.” (1830-1890) Kansas Heritage Group. Topeka, Kansas; Kansas Historical Society and Archives.

Secondary:

  Holiday, Tanner-Karen, and Robertobert K. DeArment. Doc Holiday: A Family Portrait. Norman University of Oklahoma Press, 1998. 

  Roberts, Samuel. Infectious Fear Politics, Disease, and the Health Effects of Segregation. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2009.

  Steven Lubet. Murder in Tombstone: The Forgotten Trial of Wyatt Earp. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2004.

[1]    "Interview with Virgil Earp Arizona Daily Star,” Arizona Affairs. (May 30, 1882.) Archived April 28, 2009. Retrieved June 5^th, 2022. Originally published in the Arizona Daily Star on May 30, 1882. Glenwood Springs; Colorado Historical Society.

[2]   “John Henry Holiday Family Genealogy.” (1830-1890) Kansas Heritage Group. Topeka, Kansas; Kansas Historical Society and Archives.

[3]    Roberts, Samuel. Infectious Fear Politics, Disease, and the Health Effects of Segregation. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2009.

[4]   “Be It Known-Doc Holiday is Practicing Dentistry without a License in Arizona Territory.” (1881) Glenwood Springs Archives. Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Accessed June 2^nd, 2022.

[5]    Steven Lubet. Murder in Tombstone: the Forgotten Trial of Wyatt Earp. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2004.

[6]     Karen Tanner Holliday, and Robert K. DeArment. Doc Holliday: a Family Portrait. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1998.

[7]   Ibid., 167.

[8]    Ibid., 210.