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John F. Kennedy Assassination

Published June 22, 2026Updated June 20, 2026

People

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John F. Kennedy

Victim1917-1963

35th president of the United States, assassinated in Dallas on November 22, 1963.

4 linked events1 sourceDealey Plaza +2 more
Narrative notes
Narrative notes across 4 linked events

35th president of the United States, assassinated in Dallas on November 22, 1963.

Dealey PlazaU.S. Capitol RotundaArlington National Cemetery (President Kennedy Gravesite)
Linked events
Nov 21, 1963

Kennedy begins his Texas political trip

Kennedy and Vice President Johnson began a politically important Texas swing intended to strengthen Democratic unity before the 1964 campaign.

  1. The presidential party visited San Antonio, Houston, and Fort Worth as Kennedy tried to steady intraparty tensions in Texas.
  2. The Dallas motorcade scheduled for the next day was designed as a public show of political confidence and popular support.
Nov 22, 1963• Dealey Plaza

Motorcade enters Dealey Plaza and Kennedy is shot

After arriving at Love Field, Kennedy’s motorcade drove through downtown Dallas; shots were fired in Dealey Plaza at 12:30 p.m. CST and the president was rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital.

  1. Air Force One lands at Dallas Love Field, and Kennedy begins a public motorcade through the city.
  2. Shots strike the limousine on Elm Street in Dealey Plaza, fatally wounding Kennedy and seriously injuring Governor John Connally.
  3. Secret Service agent Clint Hill reaches the limousine as it speeds toward Parkland, while witnesses in the plaza struggle to understand what has happened.
  4. Doctors at Parkland Memorial Hospital pronounce Kennedy dead.
Nov 24, 1963• U.S. Capitol Rotunda

Kennedy lies in state at the U.S. Capitol

After ceremonies in Washington, Kennedy’s casket was placed in the Capitol Rotunda for public mourning.

  1. A formal procession brings Kennedy’s casket to the Capitol as national mourning intensifies.
  2. Hundreds of thousands of mourners file past the casket during the lying in state on November 24 and 25.
Nov 25, 1963• Arlington National Cemetery (President Kennedy Gravesite)

State funeral and burial at Arlington

A state funeral in Washington concluded with Kennedy’s burial at Arlington National Cemetery and the lighting of the eternal flame.

  1. World leaders and dignitaries join the funeral procession and requiem ceremonies in Washington.
  2. Kennedy is buried at Arlington, where Jacqueline Kennedy lights the eternal flame.

John Connally

Victim1917-1993

Texas governor who was seriously wounded while riding in front of the Kennedys in the presidential limousine.

1 linked event1 sourceDealey Plaza
Narrative notes
Narrative notes across 1 linked event

Texas governor who was seriously wounded while riding in front of the Kennedys in the presidential limousine.

Dealey Plaza
Linked events
Nov 22, 1963• Dealey Plaza

Motorcade enters Dealey Plaza and Kennedy is shot

After arriving at Love Field, Kennedy’s motorcade drove through downtown Dallas; shots were fired in Dealey Plaza at 12:30 p.m. CST and the president was rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital.

  1. Air Force One lands at Dallas Love Field, and Kennedy begins a public motorcade through the city.
  2. Shots strike the limousine on Elm Street in Dealey Plaza, fatally wounding Kennedy and seriously injuring Governor John Connally.
  3. Secret Service agent Clint Hill reaches the limousine as it speeds toward Parkland, while witnesses in the plaza struggle to understand what has happened.
  4. Doctors at Parkland Memorial Hospital pronounce Kennedy dead.

Jacqueline Kennedy

Witness1929-1994

First lady who was seated beside the president in the limousine and remained with him through the trip to Parkland and the return flight to Washington.

4 linked events1 sourceDealey Plaza +3 more
Narrative notes
Narrative notes across 4 linked events

First lady who was seated beside the president in the limousine and remained with him through the trip to Parkland and the return flight to Washington.

Dealey PlazaDallas Love FieldU.S. Capitol RotundaArlington National Cemetery (President Kennedy Gravesite)
Linked events
Nov 22, 1963• Dealey Plaza

Motorcade enters Dealey Plaza and Kennedy is shot

After arriving at Love Field, Kennedy’s motorcade drove through downtown Dallas; shots were fired in Dealey Plaza at 12:30 p.m. CST and the president was rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital.

  1. Air Force One lands at Dallas Love Field, and Kennedy begins a public motorcade through the city.
  2. Shots strike the limousine on Elm Street in Dealey Plaza, fatally wounding Kennedy and seriously injuring Governor John Connally.
  3. Secret Service agent Clint Hill reaches the limousine as it speeds toward Parkland, while witnesses in the plaza struggle to understand what has happened.
  4. Doctors at Parkland Memorial Hospital pronounce Kennedy dead.
Nov 22, 1963• Dallas Love Field

Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in aboard Air Force One

Just hours after Kennedy’s death, Johnson took the oath of office aboard Air Force One at Dallas Love Field before returning to Washington.

  1. The presidential party regroups at Love Field after Kennedy’s death at Parkland.
  2. Federal judge Sarah T. Hughes administers the oath to Johnson aboard Air Force One.
Nov 24, 1963• U.S. Capitol Rotunda

Kennedy lies in state at the U.S. Capitol

After ceremonies in Washington, Kennedy’s casket was placed in the Capitol Rotunda for public mourning.

  1. A formal procession brings Kennedy’s casket to the Capitol as national mourning intensifies.
  2. Hundreds of thousands of mourners file past the casket during the lying in state on November 24 and 25.
Nov 25, 1963• Arlington National Cemetery (President Kennedy Gravesite)

State funeral and burial at Arlington

A state funeral in Washington concluded with Kennedy’s burial at Arlington National Cemetery and the lighting of the eternal flame.

  1. World leaders and dignitaries join the funeral procession and requiem ceremonies in Washington.
  2. Kennedy is buried at Arlington, where Jacqueline Kennedy lights the eternal flame.

Lee Harvey Oswald

Suspect1939-1963

Texas School Book Depository employee accused of assassinating Kennedy and killing Officer Tippit; he was arrested on November 22 and shot by Jack Ruby on November 24.

11 linked events2 sourcesTexas School Book Depository +3 more
Narrative notes
Narrative notes across 11 linked events

Texas School Book Depository employee accused of assassinating Kennedy and killing Officer Tippit; he was arrested on November 22 and shot by Jack Ruby on November 24.

Texas School Book DepositoryTippit Murder Scene, Oak CliffTexas TheatreDallas Municipal Building (Old City Hall)
Linked events
Oct 16, 1959

Lee Harvey Oswald defects to the Soviet Union

After leaving the Marines, Oswald traveled to the Soviet Union and announced his intention to defect, a move that later became central to assessments of his politics, reliability, and possible foreign contacts.

  1. Oswald arrived in Moscow in October 1959 and told U.S. officials he wanted to renounce his American citizenship.
  2. His Soviet period later became one of the most heavily scrutinized parts of his biography in both official and independent JFK investigations.
Jun 1, 1962

Oswald returns to the United States with Marina

Oswald returned from the Soviet Union in 1962 with his wife Marina, re-entering American life while carrying the personal history that would later shape both the official case and generations of conspiracy debate.

  1. By mid-1962, Oswald was back in the United States after his stay in Minsk and began trying to establish a new domestic routine.
  2. His return did not quiet official interest in his background and later became a key part of the record surrounding his activities before Dallas.
Apr 10, 1963

Oswald attempts to shoot General Edwin Walker

Months before Kennedy’s death, Oswald fired at retired Major General Edwin Walker in Dallas, an earlier act of political violence that became important to the official portrait of Oswald as a lone attacker.

  1. Walker survived when the bullet struck a window frame and fragmented rather than killing him.
  2. Investigators later treated the Walker shooting as a significant prior act that showed Oswald had both a rifle and a willingness to target public figures.
Sep 1, 1963

Oswald travels to Mexico City

In late September 1963, Oswald traveled to Mexico City and sought visas through the Cuban and Soviet diplomatic missions, a trip that became one of the most disputed and consequential parts of the pre-assassination record.

  1. Oswald left New Orleans and traveled through Texas toward the Mexican border before reaching Mexico City.
  2. His contacts with Cuban and Soviet offices later fueled major lines of inquiry about motive, foreign connections, and intelligence awareness before the assassination.
Nov 22, 1963• Texas School Book Depository

Investigators recover evidence at the Depository

Police and investigators found cartridge cases, a rifle, and related evidence on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository.

  1. Investigators locate a sniper’s nest of boxes and three spent cartridge cases near the sixth-floor southeast corner window.
  2. A 6.5 mm Mannlicher-Carcano rifle is discovered between boxes elsewhere on the floor.
  3. The building quickly becomes the focal point of the official case against Oswald.
Nov 22, 1963• Tippit Murder Scene, Oak Cliff

Officer J. D. Tippit is killed in Oak Cliff

Roughly 45 minutes after the Dealey Plaza shooting, Dallas police officer J. D. Tippit was shot and killed in Oak Cliff.

  1. Tippit stops a man on East 10th Street in Oak Cliff and is shot during the encounter.
  2. Witness descriptions and the police response help direct officers toward the nearby Texas Theatre.
Nov 22, 1963• Texas Theatre

Lee Harvey Oswald is arrested at the Texas Theatre

Police arrested Lee Harvey Oswald inside the Texas Theatre after a struggle with officers.

  1. Officers converge on the theater after reports of a suspicious man entering without buying a ticket.
  2. Oswald resists arrest and is taken into custody as the prime suspect in both the Tippit and Kennedy shootings.
Nov 24, 1963• Dallas Municipal Building (Old City Hall)

Jack Ruby fatally shoots Lee Harvey Oswald

During Oswald’s basement transfer at Dallas police headquarters, Jack Ruby stepped from the crowd and shot him on live television.

  1. Ruby emerges from a crowd of reporters and police and shoots Oswald in the abdomen in the basement corridor.
  2. Oswald is taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital, where he later dies, foreclosing any criminal trial for Kennedy’s murder.
Sep 24, 1964

Warren Commission issues its report

The Warren Commission concluded that Oswald acted alone in killing Kennedy and that Ruby acted alone in killing Oswald.

  1. The report and 26 supporting volumes become the core official record of the assassination.
  2. Its lone-gunman conclusion remains the official federal finding, even as public debate continues.
Jan 2, 1979

HSCA issues its final report

The House Select Committee on Assassinations concluded that Oswald fired the shots that struck Kennedy but said the president was probably killed as the result of a conspiracy, relying in part on later-disputed acoustic evidence.

  1. The committee reexamines ballistics, medical evidence, and witness testimony with new forensic tools and a broader mandate.
  2. Its conspiracy finding keeps the case central to later public debate, especially after the acoustics evidence is challenged.
Dec 15, 2021

Additional JFK records are released

The National Archives released another large tranche of assassination records, many concerning Oswald and related intelligence reporting.

  1. The release reflects the continuing, incremental unwinding of older secrecy around assassination files.

Jack Ruby

Suspect1911-1967

Dallas nightclub owner who fatally shot Lee Harvey Oswald in the basement of police headquarters on live television.

2 linked events1 sourceDallas Municipal Building (Old City Hall)
Narrative notes
Narrative notes across 2 linked events

Dallas nightclub owner who fatally shot Lee Harvey Oswald in the basement of police headquarters on live television.

Dallas Municipal Building (Old City Hall)
Linked events
Nov 24, 1963• Dallas Municipal Building (Old City Hall)

Jack Ruby fatally shoots Lee Harvey Oswald

During Oswald’s basement transfer at Dallas police headquarters, Jack Ruby stepped from the crowd and shot him on live television.

  1. Ruby emerges from a crowd of reporters and police and shoots Oswald in the abdomen in the basement corridor.
  2. Oswald is taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital, where he later dies, foreclosing any criminal trial for Kennedy’s murder.
Sep 24, 1964

Warren Commission issues its report

The Warren Commission concluded that Oswald acted alone in killing Kennedy and that Ruby acted alone in killing Oswald.

  1. The report and 26 supporting volumes become the core official record of the assassination.
  2. Its lone-gunman conclusion remains the official federal finding, even as public debate continues.

Lyndon B. Johnson

Other1908-1973

Vice president who became president aboard Air Force One at Dallas Love Field on the afternoon of November 22, 1963.

3 linked events1 sourceDallas Love Field
Narrative notes
Narrative notes across 3 linked events

Vice president who became president aboard Air Force One at Dallas Love Field on the afternoon of November 22, 1963.

Dallas Love Field
Linked events
Nov 21, 1963

Kennedy begins his Texas political trip

Kennedy and Vice President Johnson began a politically important Texas swing intended to strengthen Democratic unity before the 1964 campaign.

  1. The presidential party visited San Antonio, Houston, and Fort Worth as Kennedy tried to steady intraparty tensions in Texas.
  2. The Dallas motorcade scheduled for the next day was designed as a public show of political confidence and popular support.
Nov 22, 1963• Dallas Love Field

Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in aboard Air Force One

Just hours after Kennedy’s death, Johnson took the oath of office aboard Air Force One at Dallas Love Field before returning to Washington.

  1. The presidential party regroups at Love Field after Kennedy’s death at Parkland.
  2. Federal judge Sarah T. Hughes administers the oath to Johnson aboard Air Force One.
Nov 29, 1963

Warren Commission is established

President Johnson created the Warren Commission to produce a single federal account of the assassination and Oswald’s death.

  1. The commission is chaired by Chief Justice Earl Warren and draws on FBI, Secret Service, and other federal investigations.
  2. Its creation reflects both the scale of public shock and concern over competing theories about what happened in Dallas.

Nellie Connally

Witness1919-2006

Texas first lady seated in front of the Kennedys in the presidential limousine during the motorcade.

1 linked event1 sourceDealey Plaza
Narrative notes
Narrative notes across 1 linked event

Texas first lady seated in front of the Kennedys in the presidential limousine during the motorcade.

Dealey Plaza
Linked events
Nov 22, 1963• Dealey Plaza

Motorcade enters Dealey Plaza and Kennedy is shot

After arriving at Love Field, Kennedy’s motorcade drove through downtown Dallas; shots were fired in Dealey Plaza at 12:30 p.m. CST and the president was rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital.

  1. Air Force One lands at Dallas Love Field, and Kennedy begins a public motorcade through the city.
  2. Shots strike the limousine on Elm Street in Dealey Plaza, fatally wounding Kennedy and seriously injuring Governor John Connally.
  3. Secret Service agent Clint Hill reaches the limousine as it speeds toward Parkland, while witnesses in the plaza struggle to understand what has happened.
  4. Doctors at Parkland Memorial Hospital pronounce Kennedy dead.

J. Edgar Hoover

Investigator1895-1972

FBI director who oversaw the Bureau’s immediate investigation and reported its findings to the Johnson administration and the Warren Commission.

2 linked events1 sourceTexas School Book Depository
Narrative notes
Narrative notes across 2 linked events

FBI director who oversaw the Bureau’s immediate investigation and reported its findings to the Johnson administration and the Warren Commission.

Texas School Book Depository
Linked events
Nov 22, 1963• Texas School Book Depository

Investigators recover evidence at the Depository

Police and investigators found cartridge cases, a rifle, and related evidence on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository.

  1. Investigators locate a sniper’s nest of boxes and three spent cartridge cases near the sixth-floor southeast corner window.
  2. A 6.5 mm Mannlicher-Carcano rifle is discovered between boxes elsewhere on the floor.
  3. The building quickly becomes the focal point of the official case against Oswald.
Nov 29, 1963

Warren Commission is established

President Johnson created the Warren Commission to produce a single federal account of the assassination and Oswald’s death.

  1. The commission is chaired by Chief Justice Earl Warren and draws on FBI, Secret Service, and other federal investigations.
  2. Its creation reflects both the scale of public shock and concern over competing theories about what happened in Dallas.

Abraham Zapruder

Witness1905-1970

Dallas dress manufacturer whose home movie became the most famous visual record of the assassination.

0 linked events1 source
Narrative notes
Narrative profile

Dallas dress manufacturer whose home movie became the most famous visual record of the assassination.

This person is listed in the case, but there are no linked timeline events yet.

J. D. Tippit

Victim1924-1963

Dallas police officer shot and killed in Oak Cliff roughly 45 minutes after Kennedy was attacked.

1 linked event1 sourceTippit Murder Scene, Oak Cliff
Narrative notes
Narrative notes across 1 linked event

Dallas police officer shot and killed in Oak Cliff roughly 45 minutes after Kennedy was attacked.

Tippit Murder Scene, Oak Cliff
Linked events
Nov 22, 1963• Tippit Murder Scene, Oak Cliff

Officer J. D. Tippit is killed in Oak Cliff

Roughly 45 minutes after the Dealey Plaza shooting, Dallas police officer J. D. Tippit was shot and killed in Oak Cliff.

  1. Tippit stops a man on East 10th Street in Oak Cliff and is shot during the encounter.
  2. Witness descriptions and the police response help direct officers toward the nearby Texas Theatre.

Clint Hill

WitnessBorn 1932

Secret Service agent who sprinted to the presidential limousine and climbed onto its rear moments after the shots.

1 linked event1 sourceDealey Plaza
Narrative notes
Narrative notes across 1 linked event

Secret Service agent who sprinted to the presidential limousine and climbed onto its rear moments after the shots.

Dealey Plaza
Linked events
Nov 22, 1963• Dealey Plaza

Motorcade enters Dealey Plaza and Kennedy is shot

After arriving at Love Field, Kennedy’s motorcade drove through downtown Dallas; shots were fired in Dealey Plaza at 12:30 p.m. CST and the president was rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital.

  1. Air Force One lands at Dallas Love Field, and Kennedy begins a public motorcade through the city.
  2. Shots strike the limousine on Elm Street in Dealey Plaza, fatally wounding Kennedy and seriously injuring Governor John Connally.
  3. Secret Service agent Clint Hill reaches the limousine as it speeds toward Parkland, while witnesses in the plaza struggle to understand what has happened.
  4. Doctors at Parkland Memorial Hospital pronounce Kennedy dead.