James, son of Alphaeus, is named in all four lists of the Twelve in the New Testament but is given no personal narrative there. He is called 'the Less' (Latin minor — 'younger,' or 'shorter') to distinguish him from James the son of Zebedee, James the Greater.
Tradition has often identified him with two other New Testament figures: 'James, the brother of the Lord' (Galatians 1:19) — the first bishop of Jerusalem and author of the Letter of James — and 'James the Just' described by Hegesippus and Josephus. Modern scholarship debates whether these are one figure or two or three; the Roman Catholic tradition has historically merged them.
The martyrdom traditions, transmitted by Hegesippus through Eusebius, describe James the Just being thrown from the parapet of the Temple, stoned, and finally killed with a fuller's club around AD 62. Modern scholars caution that these traditions are uncertain and may conflate distinct figures.