What gun was used in the assassination of JFK?
Ruth Paine
Ruth Hyde Paine (born September 3, 1932) was a friend of Marina Oswald, who was living with her at the time of the JFK assassination. According to five government investigations, Lee Harvey Oswald stored the 6.5 mm caliber Carcano rifle that he used to assassinate U.S. President John F. Kennedy in Ruth Paine's garage, unbeknownst to her and her husband, Michael Paine.
6.5×52mm Carcano
The cartridge was identified by the Warren Commission as the round used in a World War II-surplus Italian 1891 Carcano (Fucile di Fanteria Mod. 91/38) rifle purchased by Lee Harvey Oswald and used in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
John F. Kennedy assassination Dictabelt recording
The John F. Kennedy assassination Dictabelt recording was a recording from a motorcycle police officer's radio microphone stuck in the open position that became a key piece of evidence cited by the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) in their conclusion that there was a conspiracy behind the assassination of John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. Made on a common Dictaphone dictation machine that recorded sounds in grooves pressed into a thin vinyl-plastic belt, the recording gained prominence among Kennedy assassination conspiracy theorists from 1978, in which the HSCA used it to conclude that there was a "high probability" that Lee Harvey Oswald did not act alone and that the Kennedy assassination was the result of a conspiracy. Later scientific examination discredited this interpretation of the evidence.
JFK (film)
The film opens with newsreel footage, including the farewell address in 1961 of outgoing President Dwight D. Eisenhower, warning about the build-up of the "military-industrial complex". This is followed by a summary of John F. Kennedy's years as president, emphasizing the events that, in Stone's thesis, would lead to his assassination. This builds to a reconstruction of the assassination on November 22, 1963. New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison subsequently learns about potential links to the assassination in New Orleans. Garrison and his team investigate several possible conspirators, including private pilot David Ferrie, but are forced to let them go after their investigation is publicly rebuked by the federal government. Kennedy's suspected assassin Lee Harvey Oswald is killed by Jack Ruby, and Garrison closes the investigation.
David R. Wrone
Wrone's 2003 book, "The Zapruder Film: Reframing JFK's Assassination", provides a frame-by-frame analysis of Abraham Zapruder's 26-second film of Kennedy's assassination and various aspects of the film's history. The book also outlines Wrone's argument that shots were fired at Kennedy from three different angles, with none of them originating from Lee Harvey Oswald's position on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository.
John F. Kennedy assassination rifle
In an effort to test the rifle under conditions that matched the assassination, the Infantry Weapons Evaluation Branch of the U.S. Army's Ballistics Research Laboratory had expert riflemen fire the assassination weapon from a tower at three silhouette targets at distances of . Using the assassination rifle mounted with the telescopic sight, three marksmen, rated as master by the National Rifle Association, each fired two series of three shots. In the first series, the firers required time spans of 4.6, 6.75, and 8.25 seconds respectively. On the second series, they required 5.15, 6.45, and 7 seconds. The marksmen took as much time as they wanted for the first target at , and all hit the target. For the first four attempts, the firers missed the second shot at by several inches. Five of the six shots hit the third target at , the distance of President Kennedy from the sixth floor window when he was struck in the head. None of the marksmen had any practice with the assassination weapon beforehand except to work the bolt.
John F. Kennedy
President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, at 12:30 pm Central Standard Time on Friday, November 22, 1963. He was in Texas on a political trip to smooth over frictions in the Democratic Party between liberals Ralph Yarborough and Don Yarborough (no relation) and conservative John Connally. Traveling in a presidential motorcade through downtown Dallas, he was shot once in the back, the bullet exiting via his throat, and once in the head.
John F. Kennedy assassination rifle
On March 12, 1963, Oswald (under the assumed name Alek Hidell) ordered the rifle with an attached telescopic sight from a February advertisement in American Rifleman for a "6.5 Italian Carbine" (model not given in the advertisement). The rifle was ordered from Klein's Sporting Goods located in Chicago, with Oswald paying $19.95 () plus postage and handling, by money order. This amount included money for the rifle ($12.78), plus a new 4x telescopic sight ($7.17) that was to be custom mounted to it as part of the package. The rifle was also shipped to him at the Hidell post office box, also (by coincidence) on March 20, the same day as the pistol. He picked up the rifle at the post office on March 25.
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
An Italian Carcano M91/38 bolt-action rifle (see 6.5×52mm Mannlicher–Carcano cartridge) was found on the 6th floor of the Texas School Book Depository by Deputy Constable Seymour Weitzman and Deputy Sheriff Eugene Boone soon after the assassination of President Kennedy. The recovery was filmed by Tom Alyea of WFAA-TV.
Edwin Walker
Before the Kennedy assassination, the Dallas police did not have any suspects for the Walker shooting, but Oswald's involvement was suspected within hours of his arrest after the assassination. A note Oswald left for Marina on the night of the attempt, telling her what to do if he did not return, was not found until ten days after the Kennedy assassination. The bullet was too badly damaged to provide conclusive ballistics tests, but neutron activation tests later determined that it was "extremely likely" the bullet was a Carcano bullet manufactured by the Western Cartridge Company, the same ammunition used in the Kennedy assassination.
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
The gun that Jack Ruby used to kill Oswald, which was owned by his brother Earl, was sold by the Herman Darvick Autograph Auctions in New York City on December 26, 1991, for $220,000.
List of Presidents of the United States who died in office
John F. Kennedy was assassinated at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time (18:30 UTC) on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas. Kennedy was fatally shot while traveling with his wife Jacqueline, Texas Governor John Connally, and the latter's wife Nellie, in a Presidential motorcade. The ten-month investigation by the Warren Commission of 1963–1964 concluded that President Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald and that Oswald had acted entirely alone. It also concluded that Jack Ruby acted alone when he killed Oswald in police custody. Nonetheless, polls conducted from 1966 to 2004 found that as many as 80 percent of Americans have suspected that there was a plot or cover-up.
Timeline of the John F. Kennedy assassination
On Friday, November 22, 1963, at 11:38 a.m. CST, Kennedy, his wife Jacqueline, and the rest of the presidential entourage arrived at Love Field in northwest Dallas aboard Air Force One after a very short flight from nearby Carswell Air Force Base, west of Fort Worth. The motorcade cars had been lined up in a certain order earlier that morning. The original schedule was for the president to proceed in a long motorcade from Love Field through downtown Dallas, and end at the Dallas Business and Trade Mart.
Iver Johnson
Sirhan Sirhan shot and killed Presidential candidate United States Senator Robert F. Kennedy in Los Angeles, California on 5 June 1968 with an eight-shot Iver Johnson .22 caliber Cadet 55-A revolver (serial number H-53725, Trial-People's Exhibit #6, misidentified in trial testimony as S/N H-18602). The revolver as well as the official police files, reports, interviews, ballistics reports, bullet fragments and other important evidence, related to Kennedy's assassination, is today housed in the California State Archives in Sacramento.
Presidency of John F. Kennedy
President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, at 12:30 pm Central Standard Time on November 22, 1963, while on a political trip to Texas to smooth over frictions in the Democratic Party between liberals Ralph Yarborough and Don Yarborough and conservative John Connally. Traveling in a presidential motorcade through downtown Dallas with Jackie Kennedy, Connally, and Connally's wife, Nelly, Kennedy was shot in the head and neck. He was taken to Parkland Hospital for emergency medical treatment, but was pronounced dead at 1:00 pm.
Lucien Sarti
In November 1988, Steve J. Rivele's French-published book "The Murderers of John F. Kennedy" named Sarti as one of three French gangsters involved in the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Rivele claimed Sarti fired the fatal shot from Dealey Plaza's "grassy knoll". According to Rivele, Sarti, Roger Bocagnani, and Sauveur Pironti were contracted by organized crime in the United States to protect their drug interests. The British two-hour television special "The Men Who Killed Kennedy" was based on Rivele's book, but preceded its release airing on October 25, 1988. In the French newspaper "Le Provençal" published the day following the special, Pironti denied the allegation stating he believed at the time of the assassination that Sarti was held in Marseille's Baumettes Prison and that Bocagnani was in Bordeaux's Fort du Hâ. He also showed the paper military records showing that he was serving on a minesweeper from October 1962 to April 1964. The French Ministry of Justice stated that Bocagnani was in prison on the day of Kennedy's assassination and officials for the French Navy confirmed Pironti's military service.
M16 rifle
The Heckler & Koch HK416 is an assault rifle designed and manufactured by Heckler & Koch. It is based on the M16, and was originally conceived as an improvement based on the Colt M4 carbine family issued to the U.S. military, with the notable inclusion of an HK-proprietary short-stroke gas piston system derived from the Heckler & Koch G36. The HK416 was used by U.S. Navy SEALs to kill Osama bin Laden.
John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories
Oliver Stone's film, "JFK", explored the possibility that Kennedy was killed by a conspiracy involving the military-industrial complex. L. Fletcher Prouty, Chief of Special Operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Kennedy, and the person who inspired the character "Mr. X" in Stone's film, wrote that Kennedy's assassination was actually a coup d'état.
Heckler &amp; Koch HK416
The Heckler & Koch HK416 is a  rifle designed and manufactured by Heckler & Koch. Although its design is in large part based on the AR-15 class of weapons, specifically the Colt M4 carbine family issued to the U.S. military, it uses an HK-proprietary short-stroke gas piston system originally derived from the ArmaLite AR-18 (the same system was also used in Heckler & Koch's earlier G36 family of rifles). It is the standard assault rifle of the Norwegian Armed Forces, and was the weapon used by SEAL Team Six to kill Osama Bin Laden in 2011. It has also been selected as replacement of the FAMAS in the French Armed Forces.
The United States Army's Delta Force, at the request of R&D NCO Larry Vickers, collaborated with the German arms maker Heckler & Koch to develop the new carbine in the early 1990s. During development, Heckler & Koch capitalized on experience gained developing the "Bundeswehr"s Heckler & Koch G36 assault rifle, the U.S. Army's XM8 rifle project (cancelled in 2005) and the modernization of the British Armed Forces SA80 small arms family. The project was originally called the Heckler & Koch M4, but this was changed in response to a trademark infringement suit filed by Colt Defense.
Robert J. Groden
Robert J. Groden (born November 22, 1945) is an American author who has written extensively about conspiracy theories regarding the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. His books include "The Killing of a President: The Complete Photographic Record of the JFK Assassination, the Conspiracy, and the Cover-up"; "The Search for Lee Harvey Oswald: A Comprehensive Photographic Record"; and "JFK: The Case for Conspiracy" (shorter version than his 1975 co-authored book). Groden is a photo-optics technician who served as a photographic consultant for the House Select Committee on Assassinations.
John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories
James H. Fetzer took issue with a 1998 statement from Federal Judge and Assassination Records Review Board (ARRB) Chairman John R. Tunheim, who stated that no "smoking guns" indicating a conspiracy or cover-up were discovered during their efforts in the early 1990s to declassify documents related to the assassination. Fetzer identified 16 "smoking guns" that he claims prove the official narrative is impossible, and therefore a conspiracy and cover-up occurred. He also claims that evidence released by the ARRB substantiates these concerns. These include problems with bullet trajectories, the murder weapon, the ammunition used, inconsistencies between the Warren Commission's account and the autopsy findings, inconsistencies between the autopsy findings and what was reported by witnesses at the scene of the murder, eyewitness accounts that conflict with x-rays taken of the President's body, indications that the diagrams and photos of the President's brain in the National Archives are not the President's, testimony by those who took and processed the autopsy photos that the photos were altered, created, or destroyed, indications that the Zapruder film had been tampered with, allegations that the Warren Commission's version of events conflicts with news reports from the scene of the murder, an alleged change to the motorcade route that facilitated the assassination, alleged lax Secret Service and local law enforcement security, and statements made by people who claim that they had knowledge of, or participated in, a conspiracy to kill the President.
Assassination of John F. Kennedy in popular culture
The 2004 video game "JFK Reloaded" puts the player in the role of Lee Harvey Oswald, where the player is then scored on how closely one's version of the assassination matches the report of the Warren Commission: first shot missed, second hit JFK and Governor Connally and third on JFK's head. According to the company, the primary aim of the game was "to establish the most likely facts of what happened on 1963-11-22 by running the world’s first mass-participation forensic construction", the theory being that a player could help prove that Lee Harvey Oswald had the "means and the opportunity to commit the crime", and thus help prove the Warren Commission's findings.
The 2010 video game "" gives hints that the main player character Alex Mason (Sam Worthington) is brainwashed by the Soviet Union into assassinating Kennedy within the context of the video game. An ending cutscene shows Mason was in the crowd of onlookers who watched Kennedy disembark from Air Force One in Lovefield.
JFK: The CIA, Vietnam, and the Plot to Assassinate John F. Kennedy
Prouty was made famous for being the origin of the anonymous character "Mr. X", played by Donald Sutherland in the Stone movie. He is the character who asks Jim Garrison to ponder why Kennedy was killed. The president, he claims, had angered the military-industrial establishment with his procurement policies and his determination to withdraw from Vietnam, and had threatened to break the CIA into "a thousand pieces" after the Bay of Pigs Invasion fiasco. The book speculates that President Kennedy's death was, in effect, a coup d'état that placed in the White House a very different man with a very different approach. A man much more acceptable to what Prouty consistently calls "the power elite."
Karyn Kupcinet
In 2013, the "Ventura County Star" commemorated the 50th anniversary of the JFK assassination with a long article about the unknown woman who had used a phone in the vicinity of Oxnard, 50 miles away from Karyn Kupcinet's home, immediately before the shooting of JFK. Citing FBI documents that were declassified decades after the events of November 1963, the "Ventura County Star" article claims that two telephone operators with General Telephone Company who listened to the unknown woman talking for approximately 15 minutes gave the FBI a description of her voice. FBI agents questioned the two operators a very short time after JFK's death. Their description did not match Kupcinet's voice in the slightest, especially regarding her age bracket. The 2013 "Ventura County Star" article adds that the two operators believed the woman on the phone was "mentally disturbed."
Attempted assassination of Donald Trump
As Trump was speaking, Sandford noticed that Ameel Jacob, a police officer with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department who was providing security for the event, appeared to have his 9mm Glock-17 pistol unlocked in its holster. Sandford approached Jacob, who was positioned approximately from the stage where Trump was speaking, and engaged him in conversation, saying that he wanted Trump's autograph. While talking to Jacob, Sandford "reached down to try and pull the officer's gun but it got stuck in his holster". Sandford was immediately subdued and arrested by Jacob and two other police officers. Sandford was described as appearing "confused" at the time of his arrest.
Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man
Producer J.P. Finn coordinated the sequence in which The Smoking Man assassinates John F. Kennedy; it was filmed in a Vancouver location that looked somewhat like Dealey Plaza. The show's costume designers studied the reproduction of Jackie Kennedy's pink suit used in the film "JFK" (1991) to create one for the show. The SS-100-X mock-up featured in this episode was created by vehicle coordinator Nigel Habgood, using a heavily modified Lincoln Continental. In regards to direction, Davis later said "Jim Wong ... was a big help, too. A lot of the stage directions point toward farce, but Jim told me to play against that and just let the situation play out. The "Forrest Gump" scene was difficult, too. When I prepared it and did it the first time, I was almost Shakespearean in my approach. Jim made me toss it off more, and it worked fine".
American Conspiracies
Sirhan Sirhan shot RFK in the stomach at point blank range. Coroners reported that the bullet that killed him was fired into the back of his head. The gun which Sirhan used held 8 bullets that could have been fired in quick succession. Audio recordings of the event can distinguish the sound of at least 9 gunshots, and one thorough analysis claims 13 shots in 5 seconds.
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
The plane that served as Air Force One at the time of the assassination is on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. The museum offers tours of the aircraft that include the rear of the aircraft where President Kennedy's casket was placed and the location where Mrs. Kennedy stood in her blood-stained pink dress while Vice President Johnson was sworn in as president. The 1961 Lincoln Continental limousine is on display at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan.
Trial of Clay Shaw
Garrison later wrote a book about his investigation of the JFK assassination and the subsequent trial called "On the Trail of the Assassins". This book served as one of the main sources for Oliver Stone's movie "JFK". In the movie, this trial serves as the back story for Stone's account of the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
At the direction of the deceased President's brother, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, some items were intentionally destroyed by the United States government. The casket that was used to transport President Kennedy's body aboard Air Force One from Dallas to Washington was dropped into the sea by the Air Force, because "its public display would be extremely offensive and contrary to public policy". Other items such as the hat worn by Jack Ruby the day he shot Lee Harvey Oswald and the toe tag on Oswald's corpse are in the hands of private collectors and have sold for tens of thousands of dollars at auctions.
Alexander I of Yugoslavia
The film record of Alexander I's assassination remains one of the most notable pieces of newsreel in existence, alongside the film of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia's coronation, the funerals of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and "Kaiser" Franz Joseph I of Austria, and the assassination of John F. Kennedy. A 20th Century Fox newsreel presented by Graham McNamee was manipulated in order to give the audience the impression that the assassination had been captured on film. Three identical gunshot sounds were added to the film afterwards, when in reality Chernozemski fired his handgun over ten times, killing or wounding a total of 15 people. A straw hat is shown on the ground, as if it belonged to the assassin, while in reality it did not. A Mauser C96 semi-automatic pistol with a 10-round magazine is shown as the assassination weapon, while the actual one had a 20-round magazine. The exact moment of assassination was never filmed. Just hours later, Chernozemski died of the injuries inflicted on him by the crowd in the chaos.
Jack Brooks (American politician)
On November 22, 1963, Brooks was in the motorcade carrying U.S. President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jackie Kennedy through downtown Dallas, Texas, when Kennedy was assassinated. Brooks was a contemporary of Lyndon B. Johnson, who was a U.S. Senator before becoming Vice-President to Kennedy. He was present on Air Force One at Dallas Love Field when Johnson was sworn in as President after Kennedy's death.
Mary Moorman
Moorman's photograph captured the fatal head shot that killed President Kennedy. When she took it – approximately one sixth of a second after President Kennedy was struck in the head at Zapruder frame 313, Moorman was standing behind and to the left of President Kennedy, about from the presidential limousine. Moorman said in a TV interview that immediately after the assassination, there were three or four shots close together, that shots were still being fired after the fatal head shot, and that she was in the line of fire. She later stated in a 2013 PBS documentary "Kennedy Half Century" that she was close enough to hear Jackie Kennedy exclaim that John had been shot.
JFK (film)
Zachary Sklar, a journalist and a professor of journalism at the Columbia School of Journalism, met Garrison in 1987 and helped him rewrite a manuscript that he was working on about Kennedy's assassination. He changed it from a scholarly book in the third person to "a detective story – a whydunnit" in the first person. Sklar edited the book and it was published in 1988. While attending the Latin American Film Festival in Havana, Cuba, Stone met Sheridan Square Press publisher Ellen Ray on an elevator. She had published Jim Garrison's book "On the Trail of the Assassins". Ray had gone to New Orleans and worked with Garrison in 1967. She gave Stone a copy of Garrison's book and told him to read it. He did and quickly bought the film rights with $250,000 of his own money to prevent talk going around the studios about projects he might be developing.
John F. Kennedy assassination Dictabelt recording
The only evidence that HSCA had for a second shooter was the Dictabelt sound recording. Four of the twelve HSCA members dissented to the HSCA's conclusion of conspiracy based on the acoustic findings, and a fifth thought a further study of the acoustic evidence was "necessary". Dissenting members of the committee included Congressmen Samuel L. Devine, Robert W. Edgar, and Harold S. Sawyer. Responding to a question asking how he would handle the Committee's report if he were at the Justice Department, Sawyer replied: "I'd file it in a circular file."
Richard E. Sprague, an expert on photographic evidence of the assassination and a consultant to the HSCA, noted that the amateur film the HSCA relied on showed that there was no motorcycle between those riding alongside the rear of the presidential limousine and H.B. McLain's motorcycle, and that other films showed McLain's motorcycle was actually 250 feet behind the presidential limousine when the first shot was fired, not 120 to 138 feet. There was also no motorcycle anywhere near the target area.
Guy Banister
On the afternoon of November 22, 1963, the day that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, Banister and one of his investigators, Jack Martin, were drinking together at the Katzenjammer Bar, located next door to 544 Camp Street in New Orleans. On their return to Banister's office, the two men got into a dispute. Banister believed that Martin had stolen some files and drew his .357 Magnum revolver, striking Martin with it several times. During the altercation Martin yelled: "What are you going to do — kill me like you all did Kennedy?" Martin was badly injured and treated at Charity Hospital.
Mark Fuhrman
In 2006, he published "A Simple Act of Murder: November 22, 1963" (), about the John F. Kennedy assassination. In it, Fuhrman advanced a theory debunking the Single-bullet theory while still maintaining that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. He claimed that the Warren Commission was forced to ratify the Single-bullet theory for political reasons. However, he said that a dent in the chrome above the windshield of the presidential limousine used that day vindicated the story told by John Connally that the first shot that hit President John F. Kennedy did not also hit him.
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
This footage shows the rifle to be a Carcano, and it was later verified by photographic analysis commissioned by the HSCA that the rifle filmed was the same one later identified as the assassination weapon. Compared to photographs taken of Oswald holding the rifle in his backyard, "one notch in the stock at [a] point that appears very faintly in the photograph" matched, as well as the rifle's dimensions.
United States House Select Committee on Assassinations
A team of photographic experts were used to answer several questions related to the photographic evidence of the case. Forensic anthropologists as well as photographic and radiographic experts, based on unique anatomical details, verified that JFK's autopsy photos and x-rays were only of the late president. Forensic anthropologists were also used to verify that all relevant photographs of Lee Harvey Oswald were of only one person. They verified that the backyard photos (showing Oswald holding the rifle used to kill the president) depicted the same rifle found in the Texas school book depository building after the crime. The panel of photographic experts were also used to verify the authenticity of the assassination-related photos and to analyze for any tampering or fakery; none was detected.
Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy
Until 1987, the LAPD retained the original files, reports, transcripts, fragments of the bullets that struck Kennedy and the four other bystanders in the kitchen pantry, the .22 caliber Iver-Johnson handgun used by Sirhan, Kennedy's blood-stained clothes and other artifacts related to the assassination. In 1987, the LAPD donated the entire evidence collection (except for Kennedy's clothes) to the California State Archives in Sacramento for permanent preservation.
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
According to the Warren Commission, a second shot that struck the President was recorded at Zapruder film frame 313. The Commission made no conclusion as to whether this was the second or third bullet fired. The presidential limousine then passed in front of the John Neely Bryan north pergola concrete structure. The two investigative committees concluded that the second shot to hit the president entered the rear of his head (the House Select Committee placed the entry wound four inches higher than the Warren Commission placed it) and passed in fragments through his skull; this created a large, "roughly ovular" [sic] hole on the rear, right side of the head. The president's blood and fragments of his scalp, brain, and skull landed on the interior of the car, the inner and outer surfaces of the front glass windshield, the raised sun visors, the front engine hood, and the rear trunk lid. His blood and fragments also landed on the Secret Service follow-up car and its driver's left arm, as well on the motorcycle officers who were riding on both sides of the President just behind his vehicle.
John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories
Colin McLaren, a former Australian police detective sergeant, was inspired by Bonar Menninger's "Mortal Error", to approach the assassination of Kennedy as a cold case investigation, and treating Howard Donahue's expert testimony as that of just one witness of many. After more than four years of research, he published a book titled "JFK: The Smoking Gun", which was accompanied by a documentary. As an investigator, McLaren focuses on the existing witness testimony, including testimony from people present at Kennedy's autopsy rather than on his own ballistics or similar tests. Rather than just dismiss the ballistics tests carried out for the Warren Commission as inexpert, their testimony to the commission, including their qualifications, is quoted and critiqued, and also any cross-examination. He quotes many more witnesses than Donahue or Menninger as having believed that shots were fired at ground level, and observes a pattern of concealment of evidence. His conclusion, like those of Reppert and of Menninger, is that Donahue is correct in both the broad theory and the details.
British Bull Dog revolver
Charles J. Guiteau used a .442 Webley British Bulldog revolver to assassinate U.S. President James A. Garfield on 2 July 1881. Guiteau was a disgruntled lawyer, who was angry that Garfield had not appointed him to a federal post. Guiteau reportedly wanted a British Bulldog revolver with ivory grips instead of wooden ones, as he believed they would look nicer when the gun was displayed in a museum, but decided not to spend the extra USD $1 that the ivory-gripped model would have cost. Though he could not afford the extra dollar, the store owner dropped the price for him. In all, he paid $10 for the revolver, a box of cartridges and a penknife, before spending the next day familiarising himself with the revolver's operation and firing 10 practice shots with it into trees along the banks of the Potomac River. He used the revolver to shoot Garfield a week or so later in the Sixth Street Railway Station in Washington, D.C. After Guiteau's trial, the revolver was placed in the Smithsonian Institution but disappeared some time later.
Assassination of John F. Kennedy in popular culture
In the 2010 book, "TimeRiders", a training mission involves going back to November 22, 1963, to stop Lee Harvey Oswald from killing JFK. This results in a new timeline in which a large space program sends a mission to Mars on September 10, 2001. The trainees learn that history corrects itself, and Oswald, who was originally a lone gunman, was no longer alone when he shot the President but was part of a conspiracy, thanks to their interference with the timestream.
Who shot J.R.?
During the 1980 United States presidential election, the Republicans distributed campaign buttons that claimed "A Democrat shot J.R.", while Democratic incumbent Jimmy Carter joked that he would have no problem financing his campaign if he knew who shot J.R. When Hagman was offered £100,000 during vacation in the United Kingdom for the identity of the shooter, he admitted that neither he nor anyone in the cast knew the answer. Former president Gerald Ford unsuccessfully asked producer Leonard Katzman who the shooter was; he and Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, were among the millions worldwide intrigued by the mystery. The crowd at the Royal Ascot yelled "J.R.! J.R.!" when Hagman arrived. Betting parlors worldwide took bets as to which one of the 10 or so principal characters had actually pulled the trigger. Comedy pop group The Barron Knights recorded "We know who done it". Using the tune of Gary Numan's "Cars", the song ended with a repetition of "It was—" as if, frustratingly, the record's needle stuck just before the culprit was named.
John F. Kennedy assassination rifle
During the investigation by the House Select Committee on Assassinations (1976–1978), the lead attorneys for the Committee, Robert Blakey and Gary Cornwell, were allowed to use WC-139 at an FBI firing range. The attorneys wanted to see how fast the bolt action could be operated. Blakey was able to fire two rounds in 1.5 seconds and Cornwell fired two rounds in 1.2 seconds. This was an experiment to test a possible theory that Oswald in his excitement may have pointed and fired, as opposed to aimed and fired. Some critics of the Warren Commission had claimed it was impossible to fire a Carcano rifle in less than 2.3 seconds. Both the CBS and HSCA tests proved conclusively that the claim was not accurate.
Jackie (2016 film)
A week following the assassination of John F. Kennedy, a journalist visits Jacqueline Kennedy for an interview at her home in Hyannis Port regarding her husband's legacy. After Jackie reflects upon her 1961 televised tour of The White House, the journalist turns to inquiries about John F. Kennedy’s assassination and its aftermath for Jackie and her family. She talks about events shortly prior to the assassination, before describing her shock and horror in reaction. Members of the White House close to the newly sworn-in President Lyndon Johnson and his wife Lady Bird are seen comforting Jackie in the aftermath onboard Air Force One. Robert F. Kennedy soon appears and shares her grief, escorting her back to Washington. Jackie expresses her deep concern for the well-being of her children in adjusting to the loss of their father. Robert continues to support her whilst dealing with his own sadness, and helps her in planning the funeral and looking after the family. She is seen struggling to sleep and becoming reliant on medications and alcohol. She is also seen regularly seeking spiritual counsel from a priest. Robert Kennedy along with President Lyndon Johnson, Lady Bird Johnson and members of the White House witness Lee Harvey Oswald's murder on live television. Robert insists to all that Jackie not be informed of this by anyone but himself; he will tell her when he feels the time is right. However Jackie finds out about it almost immediately, and condemns him for withholding it from her. After John F. Kennedy Jr.'s 3rd birthday, Robert voices his fears to Jackie that Jack's short time as President will not be noted by future generations. After the State funeral of John F. Kennedy, Jackie tells the priest that she contemplated suicide following the assassination. She then admits that she clearly remembers what happened during the assassination and feels unbearable pain and guilt that she did not act in some way to protect her husband. As the interview ends, Jackie makes it clear to the journalist that she maintains the right to control which parts of the interview may come to press and which parts are to be withheld. The film concludes with Jackie having her miscarried and stillborn children's coffins being re-interred next to John F. Kennedy’s.
President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992
The final report of the Act's Assassination Records Review Board (ARRB) partially credited the conclusions in Oliver Stone's 1991 film "JFK" with the passage of the Act. The ARRB stated that the film "popularized a version of President Kennedy's assassination that featured U.S. government agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the military as conspirators."
Umbrella man (JFK assassination)
The "umbrella man", identified by the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations in 1978 as Louie Steven Witt, is a name given to a figure who appears in the Zapruder film, and several other films and photographs, near the Stemmons Freeway sign within Dealey Plaza during the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
JFK (film)
JFK is a 1991 American political thriller film directed by Oliver Stone. It examines the events leading to the assassination of John F. Kennedy and alleged cover-up through the eyes of former New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison (Kevin Costner). Garrison filed charges against New Orleans businessman Clay Shaw (Tommy Lee Jones) for his alleged participation in a conspiracy to assassinate the President, for which Lee Harvey Oswald (Gary Oldman) was found responsible by the Warren Commission.
John F. Kennedy assassination Dictabelt recording
Dr. James E. Barger of Bolt, Beranek, and Newman (BBN) testified to the HSCA that his statistical analysis of the impulse patterns captured on the Dallas police recordings showed that the motorcycle with the open microphone was about "120 to 138 feet" behind the presidential limousine at the time the first shot was fired. When the HSCA asked Weiss about the location of the motorcycle with the open microphone—"Would you consider that to be an essential ingredient in the ultimate conclusion of your analysis?"— Weiss answered, "It is an essential component of it, because, if you do not put the motorcycle in the place that it is —the initial point of where it was receiving the [sound of the gunfire]—, and if you do not move it at the velocity at which it is being moved on paper in this re-creation, you do not get a good, tight pattern that compares very well with the observed impulses on the police tape recording."
Kennedy pink Chanel suit
A pink Chanel suit was worn by Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy on November 22, 1963, when her husband, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. Made of wool bouclé, the double-breasted, strawberry pink and navy trim collared suit was matched with a trademark matching pink pillbox hat and white gloves. After President Kennedy was assassinated, Jacqueline Kennedy insisted on wearing the suit, stained with his blood, during the swearing-in of Lyndon B. Johnson on Air Force One and for the flight back to Washington, D.C., with the president's body.
Clint Hill (Secret Service)
President Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, during a motorcade through the city, en route to a luncheon at the Dallas Trade Mart. The President and Mrs. Kennedy were riding in an open limousine containing three rows of seats. The Kennedys were in the rear seat of the car, the Governor of Texas, John Connally, and his wife, Nellie Connally, were in the middle row, Secret Service agent William Greer was driving and the president's bodyguard, Roy Kellerman, was also in the front row.
Hill was riding on the left front running board of the Secret Service car immediately behind the presidential limousine. As soon as the shooting began, Hill began running to overtake the moving car in front of him. He climbed from the rear bumper, crawling over the trunk to the back seat where the President and First Lady were located. In the moments immediately after the fatal shots Mrs. Kennedy was seen climbing out of the back seat towards the trunk. Hill pushed her back into the car and covered her and the fatally wounded president with his body.
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
President Kennedy's open-top 1961 Lincoln Continental four-door convertible limousine entered Dealey Plaza at 12:30 p.m. CST. Nellie Connally, the First Lady of Texas, turned around to the President, who was sitting behind her, and commented, "Mr. President, you can't say Dallas doesn't love you," which President Kennedy acknowledged by saying "No, you certainly can't." Those were the last words ever spoken by John F. Kennedy.
John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories
Film and photographic evidence of the assassination have led viewers to different conclusions regarding the origin of the shots. When the fatal shot was fired, the President's head and upper torso moved backwards — indicating, to many observers, a shot from the right front. Sherry Gutierrez, a certified crime scene and bloodstain pattern analyst, concluded that "the [fatal] head injury to President Kennedy was the result of a single gunshot fired from the right front of the President." Paul Chambers believes that the fatal head shot is consistent with a high velocity (approx. 1,200 m/s; 4,000 ft/sec) rifle rather than the medium-velocity (600 m/s; 2,000 ft/sec) Mannlicher–Carcano. Although it has been thought that Zapruder film frames 312 and 313 show Kennedy's head moving forward before moving backwards, that close inspection of the frames show Kennedy's head actually pivoted both forward and downwards; Anthony Marsh claims that it was the deceleration of the car by driver William Greer that allowed the President's head to move in that direction. Some, including Josiah Thompson, Robert Groden, and Cyril Wecht, state that the film shows that his head was hit by two near-simultaneous bullets: one from the rear and the other from the right front.
Robert F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories
Sirhan's .22-caliber Iver Johnson Cadet revolver contained eight rounds, which were all fired. Since the assassination took place in a tight, confined pantry, all bullets became embedded in the walls, the ceiling and the victims. Three bullets hit Kennedy; two stayed in his body and another tore through his arm. The five bullets that hit the other five victims stayed in their bodies, leaving two bullets that would have been lodged in the room itself. The LAPD found three bullet holes in the foam ceiling, and concluded that a bullet must have ricocheted through the ceiling before turning back and hitting a person. This explanation had a major flaw: there were two bullet holes in the door frame to the pantry. The LAPD does not acknowledge this, but the press took photos of the bullet holes showing police personnel pointing at them and measuring them. Martin Patrusky, a hotel waiter, remembered being told by officers that they had removed two bullets from the door frame. But the LAPD removed the door frame and the ceiling tiles and later incinerated them. Robert Kennedy's son, Robert Kennedy Jr., later said that "There were too many bullets," and that "You can't fire 13 shots out of an eight-shot gun."
Gerald Ford assassination attempt in Sacramento
On the day Fromme decided to see Ford during his September trip to Sacramento, Fromme already had a Colt .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol in her apartment. The M1911 pistol, produced 64 years earlier in 1911 by Colt Firearms, was manufactured the same year that Colt's M1911 pistol became the standard-issue side arm for the United States armed forces. After its manufacture in 1911, Fromme's pistol was sent to Rock Island Arsenal in Illinois and has a serial number of 94854. The pistol was used in the U.S. Army and later sold as Government surplus in 1913. At the time of the assassination attempt, the Colt .45 was not considered a common crime gun because "it's rather large, and not easily concealed."
Jack Anderson (columnist)
In November 1988 Anderson hosted a two-hour prime-time television special entitled "American Expose: Who Murdered JFK?" The program asserted that the assassination of John F. Kennedy was a conspiracy involving an alliance between organized crime and the Cuban government, and that the Warren Commission did not publicly reveal the true findings. Anderson's theory was based on interviews with mobster John Roselli who - prior to his death 12 years earlier - said he learned of a conspiracy through mob sources. Anderson's conversations with Roselli were re-enacted with an actor portraying Roselli. According to Anderson, Cuban leader Fidel Castro wanted Kennedy killed in retaliation for CIA plots to kill Castro, and leaders of La Cosa Nostra in the United States opposed him due to his brother Robert F. Kennedy's efforts as US Attorney General against organized crime. He said that Santo Trafficante, Carlos Marcello, and Jimmy Hoffa had the "motive and means to kill the president", and reiterated reports connecting Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby to the mob. Anderson also alleged that President Lyndon B. Johnson covered up the conspiracy for fear that public knowledge of the CIA plots would trigger war with the Soviet Union.
Green Bay massacre
As soon as the MIU operatives drove off, a specially selected team of snipers from the JDF, led by Major Ian Robinson was lying in ambush in the nearby hills. The soldiers were armed with L8 General Purpose Machine Guns (GPMG), L2A2 Self Loading Rifles and Sterling Sub-Machine Guns with Browning 9mm pistols as sidearms. On the receipt of a pre-arranged signal from one of the MIU operatives which was the firing of a single shot from his Browning 9mm pistol into the upper torso of Winston Hamilton aka "Saddle Head", the sniper team opened fire on the group of men from their nest in the hills. Five men fell dead under the hail of gunfire that erupted and the remainder fled into nearby bushes. At least one member, (Delroy Griffiths) entered the bay and was rescued by a passing fishing boat.
Umbrella man (JFK assassination)
Early speculation came from assassination researchers Josiah Thompson and Richard Sprague who noticed the open umbrella in a series of photographs. Thompson and Sprague suggested that the "umbrella man" may have been acting as a signaler of some kind, opening his umbrella to signal "go ahead" and then raising it to communicate "fire a second round" to other gunmen. The "umbrella man" is depicted as performing such a role in Oliver Stone's film "JFK" and "The X-Files" episode "Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man." Another theory proposed by Robert B. Cutler and endorsed by Colonel L. Fletcher Prouty is that the umbrella may have been used to fire a dart with a paralyzing agent at Kennedy to immobilize his muscles and make him a "sitting duck" for an assassination.
John F. Kennedy assassination rifle
The rifle remained in the possession of the FBI from November 1963 to November 1966, except for brief periods in 1964 when it was loaned to the Warren Commission and tested by the U.S. Army's Weapons Evaluation Branch. Likewise, the pistol was held by the FBI from November 1963 to November 1966, except for a brief period in 1964 when it was loaned to the Warren Commission.
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
After the Dallas Police arrested Oswald and collected physical evidence at the crime scenes, they held Oswald at their headquarters for interrogation. All afternoon, they asked Oswald about the Tippit shooting and the assassination of the President. They intermittently questioned him for approximately 12 hours between 2:30 p.m., on November 22, and 11 a.m., on November 24. Throughout this interrogation, Oswald denied any involvement with either Kennedy's assassination or Patrolman Tippit's murder. Captain Fritz of the homicide and robbery bureau did most of the questioning and kept only rudimentary notes. Days later, he wrote a report of the interrogation from notes he made afterwards. There were no stenographic or tape recordings. Representatives of other law enforcement agencies were also present, including the FBI and the Secret Service, and occasionally participated in the questioning. Several of the FBI agents who were present wrote contemporaneous reports of the interrogation.
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
From Houston Street, the presidential limousine made the planned left turn onto Elm, providing it access to the Stemmons Freeway exit. As the vehicle turned onto Elm, the motorcade passed by the Texas School Book Depository. Suddenly, shots were fired at President Kennedy as his motorcade continued down Elm Street. About 80% of the witnesses recalled hearing three shots.
JFK Declassified: Tracking Oswald
JFK Declassified: Tracking Oswald is a History Channel television series about an investigation led by former CIA agent Robert Baer and former LAPD police lieutenant, Adam Bercovici into the 1963 assassination of U.S. president John F. Kennedy, using recently declassified government documents to track down locations and witnesses connected with Lee Harvey Oswald, the suspected assassin.
Umbrella man (JFK assassination)
A person popularly dubbed the "umbrella man" has been the object of much speculation, as he was the only person seen carrying, and opening, an umbrella on that sunny day. He was also one of the closest bystanders to President John F. Kennedy when Kennedy was first struck by a bullet. As Kennedy's limousine approached, the man opened up and lifted the umbrella high above his head, then spun or panned the umbrella from east to west (clockwise) as the president passed by him. In the aftermath of the assassination, the "umbrella man" sat down on the sidewalk next to another man before getting up and walking towards the Texas School Book Depository.
John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories
According to the House Select Committee on Assassinations, a Dictabelt recording of the Dallas Police Department radio dispatch transmissions from the day of the assassination was analyzed to "resolve questions concerning the number, timing, and origin of the shots fired in Dealey Plaza". They concluded that the source of the recording was from an open microphone on the motorcycle of H.B. McLain escorting the motorcade and that "the scientific acoustical evidence established a high probability that two gunmen fired at President John F. Kennedy."
John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories
The Warren Commission found that the shots that killed Kennedy and wounded Connally were fired from an Italian 6.5mm Manlicher Carcano rifle owned by Oswald. Deputy Sheriff Eugene Boone and Deputy Constable Seymour Weitzman both initially identified the rifle found in the Texas School Book Depository as a 7.65 Mauser. Weitzman signed an affidavit the following day describing the weapon as a "7.65 Mauser bolt action equipped with a 4/18 scope, a thick leather brownish-black sling on it". Deputy Sheriff Roger Craig claimed that he saw "7.65 Mauser" bullets stamped on the barrel of the weapon. But when interviewed in 1968 by Barry Ernest, author of "The Girl on the Stairs—The Search for a Missing Witness to the JFK Assassination", Craig said: "I felt then and I still feel now that the weapon was a 7.65 German Mauser ... I was there. I saw it when it was first pulled from its hiding place, and I am not alone in describing it as a Mauser." So, in the videotaped interview he said he read Mauser on the rifle, and to Ernest he said that he felt it was a Mauser.
John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories
Among the evidence against Oswald are photographs of him holding a Carcano rifle — the weapon identified by the Warren Commission as the assassination weapon — in his backyard. The House Select Committee on Assassinations concluded that the Oswald photos are genuine and Oswald's wife, Marina, said that she took them. In 2009, the journal "Perception" published the findings of Hany Farid, a professor in the Department of Computer Science at Dartmouth College, who used 3D modeling software to analyze one of the photographs. After demonstrating that a single light source could create seemingly incongruent shadows, Farid concluded that the photograph revealed no evidence of tampering. Many researchers, including Robert Groden, assert that these photos are fake.
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
In 1992, the popular but controversial movie "JFK" had renewed public interest in the assassination and particularly in the still-classified documents referenced in the film's postscript. Largely in response to the film, Congress passed the JFK Act, or "President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992". The goal of the legislation was to collect at the National Archives and make publicly available all of the assassination-related records held by federal and state government agencies, private citizens and various other organizations.
Mortal Error
Mortal Error: The Shot That Killed JFK is a 1992 non-fiction book by Bonar Menninger outlining a theory by sharpshooter, gunsmith and ballistics expert Howard Donahue that a Secret Service agent accidentally fired the shot that actually killed President John F. Kennedy. "Mortal Error" was published by St Martin's Press in hardback, paperback, and audiobook.
John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated by gunshot while traveling in a motorcade in an open-top limousine in Dallas, Texas at 12:30 pm CST on Friday, November 22, 1963; Texas Governor John Connally was wounded, but survived. Within two hours, Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested for killing Dallas policeman J. D. Tippit and arraigned that evening. Shortly after 1:30 am on Saturday, November 23, Oswald was arraigned for murdering President Kennedy as well. On Sunday, November 24, at 11:21 a.m., nightclub owner Jack Ruby fatally shot Oswald as he was being transferred from the city jail to the county jail.
Ballistic Research Laboratory
On March 27 of 1964, the U.S. Army's Ballistic Research Laboratory, according to the 36th U.S. President's Commission (commonly known as the Warren Commission), played host to one of the most famous rifles in U.S. history. On that date, three marksmen test fired a Mannlicher–Carcano Type 38, the rifle used by Lee Harvey Oswald to assassinate President John F. Kennedy on November 22 of 1963. Only one of the three expert marksmen was able to fire three shots somewhat close to the established official time limit attributed to Oswald. But unlike Oswald from the 6th Floor of the Texas School Book Depository Building, these three marksmen were allowed to use a gun rest, and they were also allowed to take as much time as they needed to line up their first shot at a stationary target. Oswald shot at a moving target.
John F. Kennedy assassination rifle
CBS conducted a firing test in 1967 at the H. P. White Ballistics Laboratory located in Street, Maryland. For the test, 11 marksmen from diverse backgrounds were invited to participate: 3 Maryland State Troopers, 1 weapons engineer, 1 sporting goods dealer, 1 sportsman, 1 ballistics technician, 1 ex-paratrooper, and 3 H. P. White employees. CBS provided several Carcano rifles for the test. Oswald's rifle was not used in this test. The targets were color-coded orange for head/shoulder silhouette and blue for a near miss. The results of the CBS test were as follows: 7 of 11 shooters were able to fire three rounds under 5.6 seconds (64%). Of those 7 shooters, 6 hit the orange target once (86%), and 5 hit the orange target twice (71%). Out of 60 rounds fired, 25 hit the orange (42%), 21 hit the blue portion of the target (35%), and there were 14 misses on the target (23%).
United States House Select Committee on Assassinations
Forensic analysis confirmed that the mostly-intact stretcher bullet, bullet fragments from the presidential limo and the three cartridge casings from the sniper's nest were all fired from Oswald's rifle to the exclusion of all others. Neutron activation analysis revealed that only two lead bullets were the source of all the following pieces of evidence: the mostly-intact stretcher bullet, fragments found in the presidential limousine's front seat and rug, fragments recovered from JFK's brain autopsy and fragments recovered from Governor Connally's wrist.
Warren Commission
Three other U.S. government investigations have agreed with the Warren Commission's conclusion that two shots struck JFK from the rear: the 1968 panel set by Attorney General Ramsey Clark, the 1975 Rockefeller Commission, and the 1978-79 House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA), which reexamined the evidence with the help of the largest forensics panel. The HSCA involved Congressional hearings and ultimately concluded that Oswald assassinated Kennedy, probably as the result of a conspiracy. The HSCA concluded that Oswald fired shots number one, two, and four, and that an unknown assassin fired shot number three (but missed) from near the corner of a picket fence that was above and to President Kennedy's right front on the Dealey Plaza grassy knoll. However, this conclusion has also been criticized, especially for its reliance upon disputed acoustic evidence. The HSCA Final Report in 1979 did agree with the Warren Report's conclusion in 1964 that two bullets caused all of President Kennedy's and Governor Connally's injuries, and that both bullets were fired by Oswald from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository.
John F. Kennedy assassination rifle
Vincent Bugliosi put forward the hypothesis that Oswald aimed the Carcano with the open sights, which reduced the time necessary to take the three shots postulated by the Warren Commission. He notes that, with the downward slope on Dealey Plaza, President Kennedy's head would have appeared to Oswald to be a stationary target as the vehicle moved down and away at a slow speed. This suggestion also therefore makes any claim that the scope was defective to be meaningless with respect to Oswald's shooting ability.
However, with the M91/38 open sights being factory set to be accurate at 200 meters, the final shot being well under 100 meters and the M91/38 not being a very flat shooting rifle to begin with (up to high at 100 meters), this rifle would have been shooting quite high and would have made hitting JFK extremely difficult. This would have been further exacerbated by the steep downward angle from the sixth floor of the TSBD to the limo, which would have made the shot go even higher than what Oswald would have been aiming at.
John F. Kennedy assassination rifle
In March 1963, Lee Harvey Oswald, using the alias "A. Hidell", purchased by mail order a 6.5×52mm Carcano Model 91/38 infantry rifle (described by the President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy as a "Mannlicher–Carcano") rifle with a telescopic sight. He also purchased a revolver from a different company, by the same method. The Hidell alias was determined from multiple sources to be Oswald. Oswald fired the rifle from the Texas School Book Depository in Dallas, Texas, to assassinate U.S. President John F. Kennedy as his motorcade drove by on November 22, 1963. Photographs of Oswald holding the rifle, a palmprint found upon examination of the rifle, and detective work tracing its sale, all eventually led to Oswald. Marina Oswald later testified she was told by Lee that the rifle was also used before in an attempt to assassinate retired U.S. Army General Edwin Walker in Dallas.
John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories
In 1978, at the behest of the House Select Committee on Assassinations, members of the Dallas Police Pistol Team participated in an acoustical reconstruction in which they would fire rifles and pistols from any of the locations selected by the researchers. During this reconstruction, the Dallas Police marksmen had no difficulty in hitting the targets. The Committee's firearms experts "... testified that given the distance and angle from the sixth floor window to the location of the President's limousine, it would have been easier to use the open iron sights." The Warren Commission tests were carried out on assuming that Oswald, whom they and the Committee concluded fired the shots, had used the telescopic sight.
John Connally
On November 22, 1963, Connally was seriously wounded while riding in President Kennedy's car at Dealey Plaza in Dallas when the president was assassinated. Connally, riding in the middle jump seat of the President's limousine in front of the President, recalled hearing the first shot which he immediately recognized as a rifle shot. He said he immediately feared an assassination attempt and turned to his right to look back to see the President. He looked over his right shoulder but did not catch the President out of the corner of his eye so he said he began to turn back to look to his left when he felt a forceful impact to his back. He stated to the Warren Commission: "I immediately, when I was hit, I said, "Oh, no, no, no." And then I said, "My God, they are going to kill us all." He looked down and saw that his chest was covered with blood and thought he had been fatally shot. Then he heard the third and final shot, which sprayed blood and brain tissue over them. Connally suffered three broken ribs, a punctured lung and a shattered wrist and had a bullet lodged in his leg. He underwent four hours of surgery after the shooting and recovered from his wounds. In testimony before the Warren Commission, Connally said: "There were either two or three people involved, or more, in this — or someone was shooting with an automatic rifle."
James H. Fetzer
Claiming an interest in alleged government conspiracies that dates to the 1963 assassination of US President John F. Kennedy, Fetzer became "a familiar and controversial figure in the JFK research community". With Don "Four Arrows" Jacobs, Fetzer claimed that the 2002 airplane crash that killed US Senator Paul Wellstone was an assassination.
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
Three vehicles were used for Secret Service and police protection in the Dallas motorcade. The first car, an unmarked white Ford (hardtop), carried Dallas Police Chief Jesse Curry, Secret Service Agent Win Lawson, Sheriff Bill Decker and Dallas Field Agent Forrest Sorrels. The second car, a 1961 Lincoln Continental convertible, was occupied by driver Agent Bill Greer, SAIC Roy Kellerman, Governor John Connally, Nellie Connally, President Kennedy, and Jackie Kennedy.
The Bellevue-Stratford Hotel
On October 30, 1963, the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel became a 'testing ground' of sorts for the 35th U.S. President, John F. Kennedy, as he successfully rode in a 13-mile open car motorcade from the Philadelphia International Airport to the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel. Less than a month later, JFK was assassinated in an open car motorcade through the city of Dallas, Texas.
John F. Kennedy assassination Dictabelt recording
Left unanswered by the professional analyses was the question of whose open microphone captured the sounds recorded on the Dictabelt, if not Officer H.B. McLain. Jim Bowles, a Dallas police dispatcher supervisor in November 1963, and later Dallas County Sheriff, believes it originated from a particular officer on a three-wheeled motorcycle stationed at the Dallas Trade Mart, the original destination of President Kennedy's motorcade, along the same freeway to Parkland Hospital, which would account for the sound of sirens rushing by. McLain himself believes that it was from a different officer on a three-wheeler near the Trade Mart, who was known for his whistling. When interviewed by author Vincent Bugliosi, the officer acknowledged that his microphone could have been stuck in the open position (he did not recall hearing any transmissions for several minutes), and could later have become unstuck after he followed the motorcade to Parkland Hospital.
Carcano
A Carcano Model 91/38 was used to assassinate US President John F. Kennedy.
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
Equipment (including a gurney) from the trauma room at Parkland Memorial Hospital, where President Kennedy was pronounced dead, was purchased from the hospital by the federal government in 1973 and is now stored by the National Archives at an underground facility in Lenexa, Kansas. The First Lady's pink suit, the autopsy report, X-rays and President Kennedy's blood-stained jacket, shirt and tie worn during the assassination are stored in the National Archives facility in College Park, Maryland, with access controlled by a representative of the Kennedy family. The rifle used by Oswald, his diary, revolver, bullet fragments, and the windshield of Kennedy's limousine are also stored by the Archives. The Lincoln Catafalque, which President Kennedy's coffin rested on while he lay in state in the Capitol, is on display at the United States Capitol Visitor Center.
John F. Kennedy assassination rifle
A 6.5×52mm Carcano round-nosed fully copper-jacketed bullet, of a type normally used in 6.5 mm military rifles (such as the Carcano) was found on Governor Connally's gurney in Parkland Hospital. This bullet (CE 399, see single bullet theory), and two bullet fragments found in the presidential limousine, were ballistically matched to the rifle found in the book depository building. A partial palm print of Oswald was also found on the barrel of the gun.Agents of the FBI learned on November 22, 1963 from retail gun dealers in Dallas that Crescent Firearms, Inc., of New York City, was a distributor of surplus Italian 6.5-millimeter military rifles. When contacted, Crescent Firearms said that they had shipped the rifle with the serial number C2766 to Klein's Sporting Goods Co., of Chicago. On the morning of November 23, Klein's found the order coupon and shipping record, showing the rifle was ordered by and shipped to "A. Hidell" at post office box 2915 in Dallas, Texas. That box had been rented under the name of Lee H. Oswald. Oswald was carrying two forged identification cards with the name "Alek James Hidell" in his wallet at the time of his arrest.
Pictures of the Pain
John F. Kennedy (JFK) was shot dead in 1963, when Richard B. Trask was 16 years old. Trask wrote that he was like most people, unable to understand how "seemingly unremarkable nobody" Lee Harvey Oswald could succeed in assassinating a President of the United States, so Trask set out to learn as much as he could. He found that a photographic study of the assassination was lacking within the many works published on the subject.
John F. Kennedy assassination rifle
The snub-nosed Smith & Wesson "Victory" Model .38 Special revolver, serial number V510210, that Oswald had in his hand when he was arrested in a movie theater eighty minutes after the assassination, was identified by model and serial number as the one purchased by mail order to the same P.O. Box as the rifle, and also by an "A.J. Hidell", with handwriting that matched Oswald's. The Warren Commission concluded that Oswald used the revolver to shoot and kill Dallas police officer J.D. Tippit about forty-five minutes after the assassination when Tippit stopped Oswald on a residential street.
Assassination of John F. Kennedy in popular culture
The Was (Not Was) songs "11 Miles An Hour" and "11 MPH (Abe Zapp Ruder Version)" on respective International and US-Japan releases of their 1988 album "What Up, Dog?" is about the JFK assassination and the speed the car was going, as well as referencing Abraham Zapruder and the Zapruder film of the event.
An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917–1963
An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917–1963 is a biography of the 35th president of the United States, John F. Kennedy (JFK), who was assassinated in 1963. It was written by Bancroft Prize-winning historian Robert Dallek, a professor at Boston University. Robert Dallek researched JFK for five years, using National Security Archives, oral histories, White House tapes, and medical records in his preparations. Dallek contends that historians have underestimated JFK's achievements, especially with foreign policy.
John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories
The Warren Commission concluded that Oswald "killed Dallas Police Officer J. D. Tippit in an apparent attempt to escape." The evidence that formed the basis for this conclusion was: "(1) two eyewitnesses who heard the shots and saw the shooting of Dallas Police Patrolman J. D. Tippit and seven eyewitnesses who saw the flight of the gunman with revolver in hand positively identified Lee Harvey Oswald as the man they saw fire the shots or flee from the scene, (2) the cartridge cases found near the scene of the shooting were fired from the revolver in the possession of Oswald at the time of his arrest, to the exclusion of all other weapons, (3) the revolver in Oswald's possession at the time of his arrest was purchased by and belonged to Oswald, and (4) Oswald's jacket was found along the path of flight taken by the gunman as he fled from the scene of the killing."
Anthony Summers
Summers' 1980 book "Conspiracy" was updated in 2013 as "Not in Your Lifetime: The Defining Book on the JFK Assassination". In the latest version, he implicated Cuban exile Herminio Diaz, an employee of Santo Trafficante, as a grassy knoll shooter in the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
Zapruder film
On October 26, 1992, then-U.S. President George H. W. Bush signed into law the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act (the "JFK Act"), which sought to preserve for historical and governmental purposes all records related to President Kennedy's assassination. The Act also created the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection at the National Archives. The Zapruder film was automatically designated an "assassination record" and therefore became official property of the United States government. When the Zapruder family demanded the return of the original film between 1993 and 1994, National Archives officials refused to comply.
Ruth Paine Home
The Ruth Paine Home at 2515 W. 5th Street in Irving, Texas, United States, is the location where Lee Harvey Oswald spent the night before assassinating President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. It was from the house's garage that he removed the rifle he used for the assassination, which he had previously concealed there.
Assassination of John F. Kennedy in popular culture
The 1993 thriller film "In the Line of Fire", starring Clint Eastwood, hinges around the JFK assassination. Set in present-day 1993, the film is about a psychopath who plans to assassinate the current President of the United States. Eastwood's character is Secret Service agent Frank Horrigan, the last remaining active agent who was on duty in November 1963, guarding Kennedy in Dallas. Horrigan is consumed with guilt over his failure to react quickly enough to the first shot in Dallas, and becomes obsessed with defeating a young man who has resolved to become a new assassin on the same level as Lee Harvey Oswald or John Wilkes Booth.
Lee Harvey Oswald
Before the Kennedy assassination, Dallas police had no suspects in the Walker shooting,
but Oswald's involvement was suspected within hours of his arrest following the assassination. The Walker bullet was too damaged to run conclusive ballistics studies on it, but neutron activation analysis later showed that it was "extremely likely" that it was made by the same manufacturer and for the same rifle make as the two bullets which later struck Kennedy.
Lee Harvey Oswald
Oswald was interrogated several times during his two days at Dallas Police Headquarters. He admitted that he went to his rooming house after leaving the book depository. He also admitted that he changed his clothes and armed himself with a .38 revolver before leaving his house to go to the theater. However, Oswald denied killing Kennedy and Tippit, denied owning a rifle, and said two photographs of him holding a rifle and a pistol were fakes. He denied telling his co-worker he wanted a ride to Irving to get curtain rods for his apartment (he said that the package contained his lunch). He also denied carrying a long, bulky package to work the morning of the assassination. Oswald denied knowing an "A. J. Hidell". Oswald was then shown a forged Selective Service System card bearing his photograph and the alias, "Alek James Hidell" that he had in his possession at the time of his arrest. Oswald refused to answer any questions concerning the card, saying "you have the card yourself and you know as much about it as I do."
SS-100-X
SS-100-X was the U.S. Secret Service code name for the presidential limousine originally used by the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy. The limousine is the car in which Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy were passengers when the President was assassinated in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963.
John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories
The so-called "umbrella man" was one of the closest bystanders to the president when he was first struck by a bullet. The "umbrella man" has become the subject of conspiracy theories after footage of the assassination showed him holding an open umbrella as the Kennedy motorcade passed, despite the fact that it was not raining at the time. One conspiracy theory, proposed by assassination researcher Robert Cutler, suggests that a dart with a paralyzing agent could have been fired from the umbrella, disabling Kennedy and making him a "sitting duck" for an assassination. (In 1975, CIA weapons developer Charles Senseney told the Senate Intelligence Committee that such an umbrella weapon was in the hands of the CIA in 1963.) A more prevalent conspiracy theory holds that the umbrella could have been used to provide visual signals to hidden gunmen.
Rubenstein v. State
The arrest of Lee Harvey Oswald for the murder of President John F. Kennedy and Dallas police officer J. D. Tippit was widely televised in Dallas. News of Oswald's transfer, from the local jail to a county facility, on Sunday November 24, 1963, had been announced the night before. At 11:21 am CST while authorities were preparing to transfer Oswald by car from the basement of police headquarters to the nearby county jail, Jack Ruby, in full view of witnesses and in front of TV cameras, pulled out a pistol and fired a snub-nosed Colt Cobra .38 into the 24-year-old Oswald's abdomen. Unconscious, Oswald was put into an ambulance and rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital, the same hospital where doctors tried to save the life of John F. Kennedy two days earlier. Oswald died at 1:07 pm.
American Rifleman
"The American Rifleman" continued to develop in scope following World War II. Lee Harvey Oswald killed US President John F. Kennedy with a rifle purchased from a Klein's Sporting Goods ad in the February 1963 issue of "American Rifleman". This prompted what the magazine called "a wave of anti-firearm feeling" and an "almost universal demand for tighter controls over the mail-order sales of guns."