It’s been 55 years since John F. Kennedy was assassinated

On November 22, 1963, President of the United States John F. Kennedy was sitting beside his wife Jacqueline in the backseat of a 1961 Lincoln Continental convertible, as the presidential motorcade made its way through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas.

But what started out as just an ordinary presidential appearance soon transformed into one of the world’s most famous incidents, as Kennedy was fatally shot in the head by former US Marine Lee Harvey Oswald.

Kennedy – known fondly across the world as JFK – had been waving to crowds of supporters, who had lined the streets to catch a glimpse of the 35th US president. His car was passing the Texas School Book Depository when Oswald’s bullet struck him in the back of the head at 12.30pm (CST).

Grisly reports at the time told how fragments of the president’s scalp, skull and brain matter had been scattered over the interior of the presidential limousine, as well as the other passengers, which included the first lady and the Governor of Texas John Connally and his wife Nellie.

Connally, who had been seated directly in front of the president, was also seriously injured during the shooting after the same bullet which fatally struck Kennedy entered the governor’s back just below his right armpit, before exiting his chest just below his right nipple, creating a two-and-a-half inch air-sucking chest wound. The bullet – fired from an Italian Carcano M91/38 bolt-action rifle – also entered Connally’s right arm and shattered his radius bone into eight pieces.

Harrowing footage recorded in the seconds after the shooting show Jackie climbing onto the trunk of the car trying to retrieve fragments of her husband’s skull before a secret service agent pushed her back into her seat. 

The President was pronounced dead just half-an-hour later at 1pm (CST) at Parkland Hospital. His body was then transported to Love Field airport where his casket was loaded onto Air Force One, to be returned to Washington D.C.

Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson had accompanied Kennedy to Texas and was riding two cars behind the president at the time of the assassination. He was sworn in as 36th President of the United States on board the flight back to the nation’s capital, with Kennedy’s newly widowed wife Jackie by his side as he took his oath.

Just over an hour after killing Kennedy, Oswald was arrested for the murder of police officer J.D. Tippit. He shot the cop four times after he signalled for Oswald to approach his patrol car, having recognised him from a description that had been put out over the radio following the assassination.

He was later arrested at a nearby theatre and charged that evening with the murders of President Kennedy and Officer Tippit. However, he never made it to trial as, two days after the assassination, he was shot and killed by a Dallas nightclub owner named Jack Ruby, as Oswald was being escorted out of Dallas Police Headquarters to be transferred to county jail.

Can you remember hearing the news that JFK had been assassinated? How old were you when it happened?