Rowdy Facts About Big Nose Kate, The Wildest Woman In The West
Big Nose Kate was Old West gambler and gunslinger Doc Holliday’s common-law wife. But this Wild West woman was too wild for even the West’s baddest outlaws.
1. She Was A Mystery
In the late 19th century, Big Nose Kate rubbed shoulders with the baddest bandits and lewdest lawmen of the Old Wild West. But she wasn’t your average “sporting woman”.
With a flaming hot temper, she could swing from best friend to backstabber in a heartbeat. But, with all of her lies, it’s hard to know who she really was.
And who she really loved.
2. She Was Hungarian
Mary Katherine Horony (aka “Big Nose Kate”) would become a famous outlaw in America’s Wild West. But she wasn’t even American—or that wild—to begin with. She was born in the Kingdom of Hungary in November 1850 into a respectable upper-middle class family. Her father was a prominent physician but his client list was shrinking. So he made a big, and disastrous, move.
3. Her Family Fled A Coup
When she was still just a girl, Kate’s father secured a position as the personal physician to Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico. However, the Austrian-born physician was wildly unpopular in Mexico. So, when the republican forces staged a bloody revolution, Kate and her family had to flee for their lives or risk the mercy of the merciless republicans.
They ultimately found safety in the most unexpected place of all.
4. She Became An Orphan
Of all the places, the Horony family landed in Davenport, Iowa. But, even in that restive midwestern town, tragedy followed Kate. Shortly after arriving in Iowa, her mother passed away.
Then, less than a month later, her father also kicked the bucket. Just like that, Kate became an orphan. Her reaction, however, was surprising.
