November 22nd 1963 – President of the United States John F. Kennedy is Assassinated in Dallas, Texas

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Early on the afternoon of November 22, 1963, one of the most famous events in modern history occurred under bright Texas skies: John F. Kennedy, the President of the United States, was assassinated as his motorcade moved through Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas. The shocking murder, perpetrated by Lee Harvey Oswald from the Texas School Book Depository, saddened the world and soon became a focus for conspiracy theorists. The day began like nearly any other on a campaign trip for the traveling President. He spent the morning in Fort Worth greeting onlookers and delivering a brief address to the local Chamber of Commerce. Though he had yet to formally announce his bid to secure his office for the second term, Kennedy was using the trip as a way to quietly begin the process by addressing the successes of his two-plus years in office. With the morning events finished, Kennedy made a short flight to Dallas’ Love Field, met by hundreds of citizens hoping for a glance at the handsome young President and his beautiful wife, Jackie. The light drizzle that had fallen during the morning hours had given way to cloudless blue skies, which meant the top of the limousine had been removed in order to allow the public as good a view as possible while the motorcade followed its 10-mile route through the suburbs and into downtown Dallas for another speech. Snaking through the city, the limousine made a sweeping left turn from Houston Street onto Elm Street at the foot of the Texas School Book Depository. At approximately 12:30pm, shots rang out. The President’s car, holding himself, Texas Governor John Connally and their wives, was now under fire from a high-powered rifle. Within seconds, Kennedy was dead and the Presidential limo was speeding toward Parkland Memorial Hospital. By 1:30pm, the news was spreading all over the world. Shortly after 2:30pm, with Kennedy’s body loaded on Air Force One, Vice President Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as the leader of the free world. Little did the horrified nation know, but the shooter had already been captured. Dallas police officer J.D. Tippit had been murdered while questioning a man who fit the description provided to authorities after the shooting. When police arrested Lee Harvey Oswald, an employee of the Texas School Book Depository, in a nearby movie theater a few minutes later, he was charged with both crimes. After almost 48 hours in a holding cell at the Dallas Police Department, Oswald was being moved to the Dallas County Jail. Nightclub owner Jack Ruby, distraught over the loss of Kennedy, pulled a pistol and fired into Oswald’s stomach. With the primary suspect dead, it seemed as if the truth of one of America’s darkest days might never be known. Even as a handful of investigations were undertaken in the following year by the local police, Federal Bureau of Investigation and a special commission led by Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren, doubts lingered. Whispers of a plot against President Kennedy became stronger through the years, particularly after the House Select Committee on Assassinations reported in 1979 a second gunman at the scene in Dallas was possible. Conspiracy theorists, unsatisfied with the amount of sealed records and perceptions of threats from Cuba and the Central Intelligence Agency, have seized on the event to propose a host of ideas for why Oswald could not have acted alone. To this day, the events surrounding the assassination of President Kennedy remain a sticking point in the American consciousness — polls in each of the five decades since have consistently shown two of every three people believe there were others involved. Also On This Day: 1307 – Pope Clement V orders all Christian kings in Europe to seize the assets of the Knights Templar 1718 – British pirate Edward “Blackbeard” Teach is captured by the Royal Navy 1935 – The China Clipper begins transpacific mail and passenger service, the first commercial line to do so 1943 – United States President Franklin Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Chinese Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek meet at the Cairo Conference to discuss the defeat of Japan 1995 – Toy Story, the first computer-generated feature film, debuts in theaters