November 22, 1963: Death of the President

By the fall of 1963, President John F. Kennedy and his political advisers were preparing for the next presidential campaign. Although he had not formally announced his candidacy, it was clear that President Kennedy was going to run and he seemed confident about his chances for re-election.

At the end of September, the presidenttraveled west, speaking in nine different states in less than a week. The trip was meant to put a spotlight on natural resources and conservation efforts. But JFK also used it to sound out themes—such as education, national security, and world peace—for his run in 1964.

Campaigning in Texas

A month later, the president addressed Democratic gatherings in Boston and Philadelphia. Then, onNovember 12, he held the first important political planning session for the upcoming election year. At the meeting, JFK stressed the importance of winning Florida and Texas and talked about his plans to visit both states in the next two weeks.

Mrs. Kennedy would accompany him on the swing through Texas, which would be her first extended public appearance since the loss of their baby, Patrick, in August. On November 21, the president and first lady departed on Air Force One for thetwo-day, five-city tour of Texas.

JFK and Jacqueline Kennedy (carrying a bouquet of yellow roses) on the tarmac at Houston International Airport.
President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy arrive in Houston, Texas. November 21, 1963.ST-C420-57-63.

President Kennedy was aware that a feud among party leaders in Texas could jeopardize his chances of carrying the state in 1964, and one of his aims for the trip was to bring Democrats together. He also knew that a relatively small but vocal group of extremists was contributing to the political tensions in Texas and would likely make its presence felt—particularly in Dallas, where US Ambassador to the United Nations Adlai Stevenson had been physically attacked a month earlier after making a speech there. Nonetheless, JFK seemed to relish the prospect of leaving Washington, getting out among the people and into the political fray.

The first stop was San Antonio. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, Governor John B. Connally, and Senator Ralph W. Yarborough led the welcoming party. They accompanied the president to Brooks Air Force Base for the dedication of the Aerospace Medical Health Center. Continuing on to Houston, he addressed theLeague of United Latin American Citizens, and spoke at a testimonial dinner forCongressman Albert Thomas before ending the day in Fort Worth.

Morning in Fort Worth

A light rain was falling on Friday morning, November 22, but a crowd of several thousand stood in the parking lot outside the Texas Hotel where the Kennedys had spent the night. A platform was set up and the president, wearing no protection against the weather, came out to make somebrief remarks.

"There are no faint hearts in Fort Worth," he began, "and I appreciate your being here this morning. Mrs. Kennedy is organizing herself. It takes longer, but, of course, she looks better than we do when she does it." He went on to talk about the nation's need for being "second to none" in defense and in space, for continued growth in the economy and "the willingness of citizens of the United States to assume the burdens of leadership."

The warmth of the audience response was palpable as the president reached out to shake hands amidst a sea of smiling faces.

President Kennedy reaches out to the crowd gathered at the Hotel Texas parking lot rally in Fort Worth, Texas.
President Kennedy reaches out to the crowd gathered at the Hotel Texas parking lot rally in Fort Worth, Texas.ST-525-8-63.

Back inside the hotel the president spoke at a breakfast of theFort Worth Chamber of Commerce, focusing on military preparedness. "We are still the keystone in the arch of freedom," he said. "We will continue to do…our duty, and the people of Texas will be in the lead."

On to Dallas

The presidential party left the hotel and went by motorcade to Carswell Air Force Base for the thirteen-minute flight to Dallas. Arriving atLove Field, President and Mrs. Kennedy disembarked and immediately walked toward a fence where a crowd of well-wishers had gathered, and they spent several minutes shaking hands.

The first lady received a bouquet of red roses, which she brought with her to the waiting limousine. Governor John Connally and his wife, Nellie, were already seated in the open convertible as the Kennedys entered and sat behind them. Since it was no longer raining, the plastic bubble top had been left off. Vice President and Mrs. Johnson occupied another car in the motorcade.

The procession left the airport and traveled along aten-mile route that wound through downtown Dallas on the way to the Trade Mart where the President was scheduled to speak at a luncheon.

An Undelivered Speech

last two speech cards of a speech JFK was to deliver in Austin, Texas.

After Dallas, President and Mrs. Kennedy were scheduled to travel to San Antonio for a brief visit before going on to Austin. At 4:15 pm, he was scheduled to speak in front of the Democratic State Committee. He would have discussed the “historic bonds” between Texas and the Democratic Party, and his administration’s successes on promises made on the campaign trail around Texas in 1960.

These cards, the last lines of that undelivered speech, were the last words ever typed for President Kennedy.JFKPOF-048-023-p0020.Click to enlarge and enable magnification.

The Assassination

Crowds of excited people lined the streets and waved to the Kennedys. The car turned off Main Street at Dealey Plaza around 12:30 p.m. As it was passing the Texas School Book Depository, gunfire suddenly reverberated in the plaza.

Bullets struck the president's neck and head and he slumped over toward Mrs. Kennedy. The governor was shot in his back.

The car sped off to Parkland Memorial Hospital just a few minutes away. But little could be done for the President. A Catholic priest was summoned to administer the last rites, and at 1:00 p.m. John F. Kennedy was pronounced dead. Though seriously wounded, Governor Connally would recover.

The president's body was brought to Love Field andplaced on Air Force One. Before the plane took off, a grim-faced Lyndon B. Johnson stood in the tight, crowded compartment and took the oath of office, administered by U.S. District Court Judge Sarah Hughes. The brief ceremony took place at 2:38 p.m.

President Lyndon B. Johnson takes the oath of office on board Air Force One.
President Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in aboard Air Force One. November 22, 1963.ST-1A-18-63.

Less than an hour earlier, police had arrested Lee Harvey Oswald, a recently hired employee at the Texas School Book Depository. He was being held for the assassination of President Kennedy and the fatal shooting, shortly afterward, of Patrolman J.D. Tippit on a Dallas street.

On Sunday morning, November 24, Oswald was scheduled to be transferred from police headquarters to the county jail. Viewers across America watching the live television coverage suddenly saw a man aim a pistol and fire at point blank range. The assailant was identified as Jack Ruby, a local nightclub owner. Oswald died two hours later at Parkland Hospital.

The President's Funeral

That same day, President Kennedy's flag-draped casket was moved fromthe White House to the Capitol on a caisson drawn by six grey horses, accompanied by one riderless black horse. At Mrs. Kennedy's request, the cortege and other ceremonial details were modeled on the funeral of Abraham Lincoln. Crowds lined Pennsylvania Avenue and many wept openly as the caisson passed. During the 21 hours that the president's body lay in state in the Capitol Rotunda, about 250,000 people filed by to pay their respects.

On Monday, November 25, 1963 President Kennedy waslaid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery. The funeral was attended by heads of state and representatives from more than 100 countries, with untold millions more watching on television. Afterward, at the grave site, Mrs. Kennedy and her husband's brothers, Robert and Edward, lit an eternal flame.

Perhaps the most indelible images of the day were the salute to his father given by little John F. Kennedy Jr. (whose third birthday it was), daughter Caroline kneeling next to her mother at the president's bier, and the extraordinary grace and dignity shown by Jacqueline Kennedy.

As people throughout the nation and the world struggled to make sense of a senseless act and to articulate their feelings about President Kennedy's life and legacy, many recalled these words from his inaugural address:

All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days, nor in the first one thousand days, nor in the life of this administration. Nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.

Timeline: President Kennedy's Final Homecoming and State Funeral

In Eastern Standard Time. Times are approximate.

Saturday, November 23

4:34 a.m.

Marine Honor Guard meets the President’s coffin outside the White House. The coffin is carried into the East Room by a joint service casket team.

10:00 a.m.

Private Mass is held in the East Room, where the President lies in repose.

Sunday, November 24

1:08 p.m.

Caisson bearing the President’s coffin departs the White House in a procession to the U.S. Capitol, where the President will lie in state.

1:48 p.m.

In the Capitol Rotunda, the President’s casket is placed on the catafalque constructed to hold President Abraham Lincoln’s casket in 1865.

Monday, November 25

9:00 a.m.

Doors to the Capitol Rotunda close to the public; some 250,000 people have viewed the President’s casket.

10:59 a.m.

Caisson leaves Capitol Hill.

11:40 a.m.

After pausing for several minutes at the White House, the caisson proceeds to St. Matthew’s Cathedral, with Jacqueline Kennedy, members of the Kennedy family and dignitaries from around the world following the procession on foot.

12:14 p.m.

President’s coffin enters St. Matthew’s Cathedral.

1:30 p.m.

Funeral procession departs for Arlington National Cemetery.

2:54 p.m.

Aircraft flyover at Arlington National Cemetery shortly after the procession arrives.

3:07 p.m.

Taps is played.

3:13 p.m.

Flag-folding ceremony

3:15 p.m.

Jacqueline Kennedy lights the eternal flame.

Aftermath

The Warren Commission

On November 29, 1963 President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed the President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy. It came to be known as the Warren Commission after its chairman, Earl Warren, Chief Justice of the United States. President Johnson directed the commission to evaluate matters relating to the assassination and the subsequent killing of the alleged assassin, and to report its findings and conclusions to him.

The House Select Committee on Assassinations

The US House of Representatives established the House Select Committee on Assassinations in 1976 to reopen the investigation of the assassination in light of allegations that previous inquiries had not received the full cooperation of federal agencies.

Note to the reader: Point 1B in the link below to the findings of the 1979 House Select Committee on Assassinations states that the committee had found "a high probability that two gunmen fired" at the president. This conclusion resulted from the last-minute “discovery” of a Dallas police radio transmission tape that allegedly provided evidence that four or more shots were fired in Dealey Plaza. After the report appeared in print, acoustic experts analyzed the tape and proved conclusively that it was completely worthless—thus negating the finding in Point 1B.

The committee, which also investigated the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., issued its report on March 29, 1979.

Assassination Records Collection

Through the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992, the US Congress ordered that all assassination-related material be housed together under supervision of the National Archives and Records Administration. The President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection consists of more than six million pages of assassination-related records. The vast majority of this Collection has been declassified and is already available to the public either in-person or online. 

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