Jesse James

Fact-check note: Jesse James was born September 5, 1847, and killed by Robert Ford on April 3, 1882. He joined violent pro-Confederate guerrillas as a teenager and later robbed banks, stagecoaches, and trains; “rebellious folk antihero” describes a mythology promoted by sympathetic newspapers, not evidence that he shared stolen money with ordinary people. Ford killed James while cooperating with authorities and seeking reward money, although accounts differ over whether the available reward was $5,000 or $10,000 and how much Ford received. The line “I never killed a man that didn’t need killing” is widely attributed to James but lacks a reliable primary citation and should be treated as legend. Missouri State Archives · PBS American Experience · Library of Congress guide