President John F. Kennedy was assassinated as his presidential car travelled from the airport to downtown Dallas, Texas. He was forty six and had been in office for only three years. The Governor of Texas, John Connally, was riding alongside him and was also seriously wounded, though the two men’s wives who were also in the vehicle were unhurt.
The BBC has put together iconic images from the day and some other related video and audio from their archives, on the BBC World website. John F. Kennedy had represented vibrant hope and progress to a new generation of Americans, so his death struck terrible grief in the nation. Lee Harvey Oswald matched the description of an employee reported missing from the School Book Depository in Dallas, where the shots were believed to have been fired from. A policeman approached him and was shot. However, Oswald always denied shooting the President and claimed he had been made a scapegoat. He was never brought to trial as he was shot dead by a nightclub owner, Jack Ruby.
Many people believe that there was a wider assassination plot behind the shooting though despite speculation ranging from Fidel Castro to Lyndon Johnson (Kennedy’s Vice President), via the FBI and the CIA, there is still no agreement as to who was responsible.
