JFK Assassinated

Setting the scene

President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, at 12:30 p.m. CST. Kennedy was riding in an open convertible motorcade through Dealey Plaza when shots were fired. He was struck in the head and neck and pronounced dead at Parkland Hospital at 1:00 p.m. Texas Governor John Connally was also wounded. Lee Harvey Oswald, a 24-year-old former Marine who had defected to the Soviet Union, was arrested and charged with the murder.

What happened

Oswald was shot and killed two days later on November 24 by nightclub owner Jack Ruby on live television as Oswald was being transferred from Dallas police headquarters. Vice President Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as president hours after Kennedy's death aboard Air Force One. The Warren Commission, appointed by Johnson, concluded in 1964 that Oswald acted alone, but conspiracy theories persist.

Why it still matters

Kennedy's assassination traumatized the nation and the world. At 46, he was the youngest elected president and a symbol of youthful optimism. His death ended the promise of the New Frontier and led to conspiracy theories that persist today. The assassination was the first major event broadcast live on television, with 93% of Americans watching coverage. It marked the end of postwar innocence and began an era of political violence that would include the assassinations of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., and Robert Kennedy. November 22 remains a defining moment for the generation that lived through it.

Background

Warren Commission findings sparked lasting doubts.