Assassination of John F. Kennedy
On November 22, 1963, John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was assassinated while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas. Kennedy was in the vehicle with his wife, Jacqueline, Texas Governor John Connally, and Connally's wife, Nellie, when he was fatally shot from the nearby Texas School Book Depository by former U.S. Marine Lee Harvey Oswald. The motorcade rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital, where Kennedy was pronounced dead about 30 minutes after the shooting; Connally was also wounded in the attack but recovered. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was hastily sworn in as president two hours and eight minutes later aboard Air Force One at Dallas Love Field.
Kennedy delivering his "We choose to go to the Moon" speech at Rice University, 1962
Lee Harvey Oswald (center) and others distributing pro-Castro leaflets in New Orleans, August 16, 1963.
A photograph of Oswald posing with his rifle, holstered pistol, and communist literature
President Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy arriving at Dallas Love Field on November 22, 1963.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, often referred to as JFK, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the youngest person elected president. Kennedy served at the height of the Cold War, and the majority of his foreign policy concerned relations with the Soviet Union and Cuba. A Democrat, Kennedy represented Massachusetts in both houses of the United States Congress prior to his presidency.
Oval Office portrait, 1963
The Kennedy family in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, with JFK at top left in the white shirt, c. 1931
Lieutenant (junior grade) Kennedy (standing at right) with his PT-109 crew, 1943
Kennedy on his navy patrol boat, the PT-109, 1943