Interesting

Doc' Holliday - An American Legend

By Dr Richard Vlock

John Henry Holliday (1852-1887) commonly known as 'Doc' Holliday, is perhaps the most widely known and notorious dentist in American history. He has been the subject of several motion pictures, as well as numerous books, articles and television shows. He may not be as well known outside the United States, and it is the aim of this article to further extend the reputation of this fascinating and enigmatic individual.

Doc Holliday is best known for his part in the "Shootout at the O.K. Coral", an incident in which he, in the company of three brothers, Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan Earp, lawmen in the town of Tombstone, Arizona, eliminated a band ot lawless criminals, three of whom were killed while Doc Holliday and the Earp brothers emerged with only minor injuries.
The incident made headlines all around the country and Doc and the Earp brothers became national heroes.

At the subsequent trial, a few days later, Doc and the Earps were acquitted on the grounds of self defence. It has been alleged, over the years, that Doc killed about forty people but knowledgable estimates have reduced that number to about four, all of whom were attempting to kill him first.
John Henry Holliday was born in 1852 in Gritfin, Georgia, to a prominent family, his fadier being a successful attorney, planter and army officer. A biography of Holliday recently published by a descendant, reveals that the boy was born with a cleft lip and palate which were surgically corrected a year after birth. The surgery was accomplished by his father's cousin, a Dr. John S. Holliday, with the assistance of the eminent Dr. Crawford W Long of Atlanta, who had only recently introduced the use of ether into surgery as a general anesthetic. This may indeed be the first use of general anesthesia in a cleft palate repair.

Young John Henry grew up into a high-spirited, somewhat wild teenager. To keep him out of trouble, his father decided he should enter a profession and dentistry was selected, as the first dental schools had recently opened. At about 18 years of age, John Henry enrolled in dental school at the University of Pennsylvania. He seems to have been an excellent dentist; a gold crown he placed as a student in 1871 in the mouth of a six year old girl lasted until her death in 1967 at the age of 102.
Discovering that he had developed tuberculosis while in dental school, John Henry left for the warmth and dryness of the western states immediately after graduation, hoping, by so doing, to improve his health. Although his physician had given him about a year to live, he actually survived, fifteen years more, eventually succumbing in November, 1887.

Because John Henry's father was a wealthy man, finances were not a problem, although the elder Holliday would not have been too pleased to learn that his liberal allowances to his son were more often than not used to finance his gambling rather than to purchase dental supplies.
Doc Holliday, as he was called by this time, had become a skilled gambler and card dealer, eventually abandoning dentistry in favour ot this more lucrative profession.

Practising his various occupations in a hostile and lawless environment put Doc Holliday in constant danger of being killed by disgruntled gamblers. He always went out armed with pistols and knives, and frequently had to use them to save his life. As previously mentioned, when he had to use deadly force, he was always acquitted at trial on the grounds of self defence. As far as can be determined Doc never shot anyone who was not attempting to shoot him first. Because of his tuberculosis Doc began to drink heavily, both to soothe his pain and to calm his mind. Although he claimed to require a quart of whiskey to get him started in the morning, none ot his friends or acquaintances ever recalled him being drunk. At any rate, his intake of alcohol apparently had no effect on either his card playing ability or his marksmanship, as many of his opponents would discover to their dismay.

Eventually, after many adventures which lack of space precludes mentioning here, Doc entered a sanatorium in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, in failing health. Witnesses at his deathbed relate that he was amused to realize that he was dying in bed, with bare feet, rather than by a bullet with his boots on. He asked for a final glass of whiskey, drank it, and said his last words: "This is funny." He died on November 8th, 1 887 at the age of 35 and is buried in the local cemetery .

In an interview in 1896 Wyatt Earp had this to say about Doc Holliday: "Doc was a dentist whom necessity had made a gambler; a gentleman whom disease had made a frontier vagabond; a philosopher whom life had made a caustic wit; a long lean ash-blond fellow nearly dead with consumption, and at the same time the most skillful gambler and the nerviest, speediest, deadliest man with a gun that I ever knew."

Dentist offers online check-ups

A London dentist is giving patients check-ups - over the internet.

Jerry Watson examines their teeth via webcam and decides if he needs to see them in person, reports The Sun.

Dr Watson, who is expanding his Toothplace clinic to 20.000 more UK sites this summer, says it means he can monitor patients at four clinics at once.

And he believes the technology could ultimately mean people getting a check-up at home.
He said: "There's no reason people couldn't get seen from home if they've a high-quality camera.
"What we need for the future is cameras in electric toothbrushes. That would be fantastic."