On this day in 1881, a legendary shootout occurred at the OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona, where the Earp brothers confronted the Clanton-McLaury gang.
With the discovery of silver in 1877, Tombstone rapidly transformed into one of the wealthiest mining towns in the Southwest. Representing “law and order” in Tombstone were Wyatt Earp, a former police officer in Kansas turned bank security guard, and his brothers Morgan and Virgil, the marshal of the town. However, they also earned reputations for being power-hungry and ruthless. The Clantons and McLaurys were cowboys living on a ranch outside the town, also engaging as cattle rustlers and criminals. By October 1881, the conflict between these factions for control over Tombstone and Cochise County culminated in a fierce gunfight at the OK Corral.
On the morning of October 25, Ike Clanton and Tom McLaury entered Tombstone to gather supplies. During the following 24 hours, the two faced multiple violent confrontations with the Earps and their ally Doc Holliday. By 1:30 p.m. on October 26, Ike’s brother Billy arrived in town to join them, accompanied by Frank McLaury and Billy Claiborne. The local saloon was where they first encountered Holliday, who eagerly informed them that their brothers had recently been pistol-whipped by the Earps. Enraged, Frank and Billy swiftly exited the saloon, swearing vengeance.
Around 3 p.m., the Earps and Holliday spotted five members of the Clanton-McLaury gang in an empty lot behind the OK Corral, located at the end of Fremont Street. The ensuing gunfight, which lasted a mere 30 seconds, witnessed roughly 30 shots fired. While there remains contention over who initiated the first shot, most accounts suggest that the shootout erupted when Virgil Earp drew his revolver and shot Billy Clanton in the chest at close range, with Doc Holliday firing a shotgun blast at Tom McLaury simultaneously. Although Wyatt Earp managed to wound Frank McLaury with a shot to the stomach, Frank still managed to fire a few shots before collapsing, as did Billy Clanton. Once the chaos subsided, Billy Clanton and the McLaury brothers lay dead, while Virgil, Morgan Earp, and Doc Holliday sustained injuries. Ike Clanton and Claiborne fled the scene.
Witnessing the shootout, Sheriff John Behan of Cochise County charged the Earps and Holliday with murder. However, a month later, a judge in Tombstone ruled the men not guilty, declaring them “fully justified in committing these homicides.” This historic shootout has been celebrated in numerous films, including Frontier Marshal (1939), Gunfight at the OK Corral (1957), Tombstone (1993), and Wyatt Earp (1994).
