On November 1, 1924, William "Uncle Billy" Tilghman was murdered at the age of seventy-one. Uncle Billy was the infamous lawman who brought law and order to the Wild Wild West. Ironically, however, his beginnings in the Wild West were on the opposite side of law and order, and at the very young age of sixteen.

After dabbling in a life filled with crime, including stealing horses from Indians, Uncle Billy changed his ways and moved to Dodge City, Kansas. He began his straight path as a deputy marshal, but eventually opened a saloon. From that point forward, he began to build a reputation as a very respectable young man. He became the deputy sheriff of Ford County, followed up by a stint as the Marshal of Dodge City. Eventually, in 1891, he became the deputy U.S. Marshal in the Oklahoma region. Throughout his career, Uncle Billy proceeded to capture some of the most lawless individuals and bandits of that era. He had built a reputation as a man who treated everyone fairly, and who protected the rights of those who were unjustly accused.

In 1924, Uncle Billy became the city marshal in Cromwell, Oklahoma. Prior to accepting this job, he had served as an Oklahoma state legislator, and the Oklahoma City police chief. He had also made a movie about his frontier days. Although many would have retired at the age of seventy-one, Uncle Billy plowed forward to bring law and order to such a wild place, which eventually led to his untimely demise.

On November 1, 1924, Uncle Billy was trying to arrest a corrupt prohibition agent, and he was shot and killed. The man who brought law and order to the Wild West died at the age of seventy-one.