John F. Kennedy

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On November 22, 1963, John F. Kennedy was assassinated. 

    John F. Kennedy was the 35th president of the United States, from 1961 until his death in 1963. The handsome and charismatic Kennedy was the first Catholic president, and with a team of young advisors, including his little brother Robert F. Kennedy as Attorney-General, ushered in the optimistic dream of an American golden age. As president, JFK had a hand in confronting many Cold War tensions abroad, including in Berlin,Vietnam (see Ngo Dinh Diem) and in Cuba, with the Bay of Pigs and Cuban Missile Crisis. In the domestic realm, Kennedy launched the Peace Corps, and hoped to bring about income tax cuts and a civil rights bill. 

    On November 22, 1963, Kennedy and his posse were in Dallas, Texas on a fundraising trip. Paraded through downtown Dallas in a motorcade; while incredibly festive, there was a clear lack of effective security precautions. As the president's limousine passed the Texas School Book Depository in Dealey Plaza, three gunshots rang out. One shot missed, the first shot hit Kennedy in the back, and the second was fatal - it hit his head, scattering pieces of the president's brain matter and skull. Kennedy was brought to Parkland Memorial Hospital, where he passed away. 

    Lee Harvey Oswald, declared to be the lone gunman by the investigating Warren Commision, was arrested and paraded to the press on route to jail on November 24. Jack Ruby, a nightclub owner, shot Oswald during this display; the shot was fatal and Oswald never went to trial. Kennedy's death shocked the nation and the world, and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson became the 36th president of the United States. Many conspiracies evolved from the killing of the beloved president, many involving Mafia, CIA, and Russian KGB interference.