Ben Kuhl facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ben E. Kuhl
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Mugshot of Ben Kuhl, 1917
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| Born | 1884 Michigan
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| Died | 1945 (aged 60–61) Northern California
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| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | stage coach robber, mail robber, horse thief, baker, drifter |
| Known for | Robbery of a mail stage wagon |
| Height | 6 ft (183 cm) |
| Spouse(s) | Minnier |
| Children | 1 son |
| Partner(s) | Ed Beck, Billy McGraw |
| Details | |
| Date | December 5, 1916 6:30 PM |
| Country | United States |
| State(s) | Northern California, Nevada, Idaho, Oregon |
| Location(s) | Jarbidge |
| Target(s) | mail stage wagon |
| Killed | 1 |
| Weapons | .44 caliber |
Ben E. Kuhl (1884 – paroled 1945, date of death unknown, possibly 1945) was, in 1916, the last known stage coach robber in the United States. Kuhl took part in the robbery of a mail stage wagon in Jarbidge, Nevada. The incident became a myth: "Staging a Robbery Without a Coach". Kuhl's trial, which began in September 1917, was noted to be the first time palm prints were used as evidence in a U.S. courtroom. State v. Kuhl also set the precedent that palm prints were as valid as fingerprints in criminal cases for identifying individuals.
Biography
Ben Kuhl was from Michigan. In 1903, he was jailed in Marysville, California for petty larceny, and had also been sentenced to do 1 to 10 years in Oregon for horse theft. Kuhl arrived in Lander County, Nevada in 1916 and lived in a tent with two other drifters, Ed Beck and Billy McGraw. He worked as a cook at the OK Mine for about a month before he was fired for attempting to jump another man's mining claim. He was arrested for trespassing in Jarbidge.
His death sentence was commuted to life in prison at the Nevada State Prison in Carson City, Nevada, but he was paroled on May 7, 1945.
Kuhl was slender and nearly 6 feet (1.8 m) tall; he had light blue eyes. His wife, Minnier (nicknamed "Minnie"), and a son lived in Salt Lake City, Utah; she divorced Kuhl after the conviction. His mother lived in Kalamazoo, Michigan; his father in Walla Walla, Washington. Kuhl is thought to have died of pneumonia or tuberculosis in northern California, possibly Sacramento or San Francisco, within 6 to 12 months of his release.
