Henry McCarty(November 23, 1859-July 14,1881), better known as Billy the Kid, but also known by the aliases William Antrim and William Harrison Bonney, was a famous 19th century American frontier outlaw and gunman who was a participant in the Lincoln County War. According to legend he killed 21 men, one for each year of his life.
McCarty was 5'8-5'9 with blue eyes, smooth cheeks, and prominent teeth. He was said to be friendly and personable at times, but he could also be short-tempered and determined. This made him a very dangerous outlaw, when combined with his shooting skills and cunning. He was also famous for(apparently) always wearing a sugarloaf sombrero hat with a wide green decorative band. He was little known in his own lifetime but was catapulted into legend in the year after his death when his killer, Sheriff Patrick Garrett, published a wildly sensationalistic biography of him called "The Authentic Life of Billey, the Kid". Beginning with Garrett's account, Billy the Kid grew into a symbolic figure of the American Old West.
Billy the Kid shot his gun left handed.
