Doc Holliday

John Henry "Doc" Holliday (August 14, 1851 – November 8, 1887) was an American dentist, gambler and gunfighter of the American Old West, who is usually remembered for his friendship with Wyatt Earp and his involvement in the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
"Doc" Holliday was born in Griffin, Georgia, to Henry Burroughs Holliday and Alice Jane Holliday (née McKey).[1] His father served in both the Mexican-American War and the Civil War.[2] His family baptized him at the First Presbyterian Church in 1852.[3]

In 1864, his family moved to Valdosta, Georgia.[3] Holliday's mother died of tuberculosis on September 16, 1866, when he was 14 years old.[1] Three months later, his father married Rachel Martin. While in Valdosta, he attended the Valdosta Institute,[3] where he received a strong classical secondary education in rhetoric, grammar, mathematics, history, and languages — principally Latin, but also French and some Ancient Greek.[3][4]

In 1870, the 19-year-old Holliday left home to begin dental school in Philadelphia. On March 1, 1872, he received the degree of Doctor of Dental Surgery from the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery.[1] Later that year, he opened a dental office with Arthur C. Ford in Atlanta.[4] While in Atlanta, Holliday resided with his uncle and his family while beginning his career as a dentist there.[5]

Doc Holliday's famous cousin (by marriage) was Margaret Mitchell, best known for authoring Gone With the Wind. It has been said, but not confirmed, that the character Ashley Wilkes is modeled after Holliday.[6]