The assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, remains a defining moment in American political history and sparked lasting debate over conspiracy.
Key Facts
- Date of assassination
- November 22, 1963
- Location
- Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas
- Shooter
- Lee Harvey Oswald, former U.S. Marine
- Time until death pronounced
- approximately 30 minutes after shooting
- Successor sworn in
- Lyndon B. Johnson, 2 hours 8 minutes later
- Position in presidential assassinations
- 4th U.S. president to be assassinated
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Kennedy was traveling in a presidential motorcade through Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963, as part of a political visit to Texas. Lee Harvey Oswald, a former U.S. Marine, positioned himself in the Texas School Book Depository overlooking Dealey Plaza and opened fire on the motorcade as it passed below.
Kennedy was fatally shot while riding in an open motorcade through Dealey Plaza alongside his wife Jacqueline, Governor John Connally, and Connally's wife. He was rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital and pronounced dead approximately 30 minutes after being shot. Connally was also wounded but survived. Oswald was arrested roughly 70 minutes later, then shot and killed two days afterward by Dallas nightclub operator Jack Ruby.
Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as president aboard Air Force One within hours. The Warren Commission subsequently concluded Oswald acted alone, though the 1979 House Select Committee on Assassinations suggested a probable conspiracy. The event triggered enduring public debate, numerous official investigations, and a wave of conspiracy theories. It was the first of four major American political assassinations in the 1960s.