John F. Kennedy assassination

The assassination of John F. Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, took place on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, USA at 12:30 PM Central Standard Time (18:30 UTC). Kennedy was fatally wounded by gunshots while riding in a presidential motorcade within Dealey Plaza. He was the fourth U.S. President to be assassinated, and the eighth to die while in office.

Background to the Texas trip

Kennedy had chosen to visit Dallas on November 22 for three main reasons: to help raise more Democratic Party presidential campaign fund contributions in advance of the November 1964 presidential election; to begin his quest for re-election; and as the Kennedy-Johnson ticket had barely won Texas (and had lost Dallas) in 1960, he sought to mend political fences among several leading Texas Democratic Party members who appeared to be fighting politically amongst themselves.

Related Topics:
November 22 - Democratic Party - 1964 - Presidential election - Johnson

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There were concerns about security because U.N. Ambassador Adlai Stevenson had been jeered, jostled, struck by a protest sign, and spat upon in a visit to Dallas on October 24. To prevent a recurrence, Dallas police had prepared the most stringent security precautions in the city's history.

Related Topics:
Adlai Stevenson - October 24

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It was planned that Kennedy would travel from Love Field airport in a motorcade through downtown Dallas (including Dealey Plaza) to give a speech at the Dallas Trade Mart in suburban Dallas. The car in which he was traveling was a 1961 Lincoln Continental, open-top, modified limousine. Riding with Kennedy in the limousine were: his wife, Jacqueline Kennedy; Texas Governor John B. Connally, Sr, and his wife, Nellie; Secret Service agent and White House Detail Team #3 Assistant in Charge, Roy Kellerman; and Secret Service agent and limousine driver Bill Greer. No presidential car with a bulletproof top was yet in service in 1963 (plans for such a top were presented in October 1963; FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover already had three bulletproofed cars.)

Related Topics:
Love Field - Dealey Plaza - Lincoln Continental - His wife - Jacqueline Kennedy - John B. Connally, Sr - Secret Service - Roy Kellerman - Bill Greer - FBI - J. Edgar Hoover

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In a November 22 Dallas newspaper there appeared a black-bordered, full-page advertisement paid for by Kennedy critics who were associated with the ultraconservative John Birch Society. Throughout Dallas, and especially along the motorcade route, several groups critical of Kennedy expressed their views and handed out flyers. A smattering of handmade protest signs were held aloft by motorcade viewers, but there were no major disturbances.

Related Topics:
November 22 - John Birch Society

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