John F. Kennedy Assassination

This year marks the 56th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. On November 22, 1963 at 12:30 p.m. while riding in a motorcade in Dallas during a campaign visit, Kennedy’s motorcade was turning past the Texas School Book Depository at Dealey Plaza, when three shots rang out. The driver of the President’s limousine, with its top off, raced to nearby Parkland Memorial Hospital, but after being shot in the neck and head, Kennedy was pronounced dead at 1 p.m. He was 46 years old.

A generation of Americans would forever remember where they were when they heard about the President’s assassination, as it would have a profound political and cultural impact on the nation. Here are some short video clips that will take you through a chronological sequence of the events that took place that day in real time:

Walter Cronkite, CBS news journalist and anchorman broke into the airing of "As The World Turns" on CBS the afternoon of November 22, 1963, to tell the nation that President Kennedy had been shot. Coverage then went back to the soap opera, but not for long. Millions of Americans were glued to their television sets desperately waiting for new details as they unfolded throughout the day. Cronkite' now famous official announcement of JFK's passing came at 1:30pm, exactly one hour after the shooting:

By 2:15 p.m., Lee Harvey Oswald, a new employee at the Book Depository, was arrested for JFK’s assassination, as well as for the fatal 1:15 p.m. shooting of Dallas patrolman J.D. Tippit. Two days later, on Nov. 24, Oswald would be murdered by local nightclub owner and police informant Jack Ruby at point-blank range and on live television:

Clint Hill, the secret service agent assigned to Jackie Kennedy, speaks about letter she sent him and his reaction to the iconic photo of JFK Jr. saluting his late father, which captivated the hearts and minds of millions of Americans:

Finally, a really interesting clip with insights on "What if JFK had lived?"

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