August 19, 1895 — John Wesley Hardin shot and killed

Reputed to be one of the deadliest men in the whole of the West, John Wesley Hardin claimed to have killed 42 men between 1868 and 1878, when he was sent to prison for his crimes.

He was pardoned in 1894, but killed by the father of an off-duty policeman in El Paso, Texas. The policeman had argued with Hardin earlier regarding a friend of Hardin’s, and then the policeman’s father also argued with Hardin on the night of August 19, 1895. Apparently a firm believer in Hardin’s fearsome reputation, this man, John Selman, Sr, shot Hardin in the back of the head, killing him.

Selman himself was killed a year later after a dispute over a card game led to an exchange of gun fire.

John Wesley Hardin.gif
By The original uploader was Shauri at English Wikipedia. – Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons by Yarl using CommonsHelper., Public Domain, Link

As mentioned in:

Hardin Wouldn’t Run — Johnny Cash

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