John F. Kennedy

==Assassination==
{{main|Assassination of John F. Kennedy}}
{{For timeline|Timeline of the John F. Kennedy assassination}}

Kennedy was assassinated in [[Dallas]] at 12:30&nbsp;p.m. [[Central Standard Time]] on 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]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Russ |url=http://www.lifeinlegacy.com/display.php?weekof=September |title=26, 2009#P12844 Life in Legacy |publisher=Lifeinlegacy.com |access-date=March 28, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110512002820/http://lifeinlegacy.com/display.php?weekof=September |archive-date=May 12, 2011 }}</ref> Traveling in a presidential [[motorcade]] through [[Dealey Plaza]], he was shot once in the back, the bullet exiting via his throat, and once in the head.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/press.htm|title=Doctors attending to Kennedy reported.|access-date=May 15, 2018|date=November 1963|archive-date=May 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180528043725/http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/press.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:JFK limousine.png |thumb|The Kennedys and the Connallys in the presidential limousine moments before the [[Assassination of John F. Kennedy|assassination]] in Dallas]]

Kennedy was taken to [[Parkland Hospital]], where he was pronounced dead 30 minutes later, at 1:00&nbsp;p.m.<ref>{{cite web |title=November 22, 1963: Death of the President |url=https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/jfk-in-history/november-22-1963-death-of-the-president |website=jfklibrary.org |access-date=July 25, 2021 |archive-date=February 28, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120228190351/http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-in-History/November-22-1963-Death-of-the-President.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> He was 46 years old. [[Lee Harvey Oswald]] was arrested for the murder of police officer [[J. D. Tippit]] and was subsequently charged with Kennedy's assassination. He denied shooting anyone, claiming he was a [[wikt:patsy|patsy]],<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZYAIiErTNg Lee Oswald claiming innocence (film)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140326151132/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZYAIiErTNg&feature=related |date=March 26, 2014 }}, Youtube.com</ref><ref>Warren Commission Hearings, vol. 20, p. 366, [http://www.aarclibrary.org/publib/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh20/html/WH_Vol20_0193b.htm Kantor Exhibit No. 3—Handwritten notes made by Seth Kantor concerning events surrounding the assassination] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328231214/http://www.aarclibrary.org/publib/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh20/html/WH_Vol20_0193b.htm |date=March 28, 2019 }}</ref> and was shot dead by [[Jack Ruby]] on November 24, before he could be prosecuted. Ruby was arrested and convicted for the murder of Oswald. Ruby successfully appealed his conviction but died of cancer on January 3, 1967, while the date for his new trial was being set.

President Johnson quickly issued an [[executive order]] to create the [[Warren Commission]]—chaired by Chief Justice [[Earl Warren]]—to investigate the assassination. The commission concluded that Oswald acted alone in killing Kennedy and that Oswald was not part of any conspiracy.{{sfn|Brauer|2002|p=497}} These conclusions are disputed by many.<ref name="Russo">[http://www.americanheritage.com/content/did-castro-ok-kennedy-assassination Gus Russo and Stephen Molton] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119014218/http://www.americanheritage.com/content/did-castro-ok-kennedy-assassination |date=November 19, 2018 }} "Did Castro OK the Kennedy Assassination?," ''American Heritage'', Winter 2009.</ref> A [[Gallup Poll]] in November 2013 showed 61% believed in a conspiracy, and only 30% thought that Oswald did it alone.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gallup.com/poll/165893/majority-believe-jfk-killed-conspiracy.aspx |title=Majority in U.S. Still Believe JFK Killed in a Conspiracy: Mafia, federal government top list of potential conspirators |publisher=Gallup, Inc. |date=November 15, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160801184321/http://www.gallup.com/poll/165893/majority-believe-jfk-killed-conspiracy.aspx |archive-date=August 1, 2016 }}</ref> In 1979, the [[U.S. House Select Committee on Assassinations]] concluded, with one third of the committee dissenting, "that Kennedy was probably assassinated as a result of a [[John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories|conspiracy]]." The committee was unable to identify the other gunmen or the extent of the conspiracy. This conclusion was based largely on audio recordings of the shooting.<ref>[https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/select-committee-report/ "Report of the Select Committee on Assassinations of the U.S. House of Representatives"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200403232215/https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/select-committee-report |date=April 3, 2020 }}. U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved November 11, 2013.</ref> Subsequently, investigative reports from the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] and a specially appointed [[National Academy of Sciences]] Committee determined that "reliable acoustic data do not support a conclusion that there was a second gunman."<ref>{{cite book |title=Report of the Committee on Ballistic Acoustics |url=http://www.nap.edu/catalog/10264/report-of-the-committee-on-ballistic-acoustics |doi=10.17226/10264 |first=National Research |last=Council |year=1982 |isbn=978-0-309-25372-7 |access-date=January 11, 2022 |archive-date=March 14, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314144159/https://www.nap.edu/catalog/10264/report-of-the-committee-on-ballistic-acoustics |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[United States Department of Justice|Justice Department]] concluded "that no persuasive evidence can be identified to support the theory of a conspiracy".<ref>{{cite web |title=PDF Justice Department of JFK-King Reinvestigation |url=http://jfk.hood.edu/Collection/Weisberg%20Subject%20Index%20Files/J%20Disk/Justice%20Department%20of/Justice%20Department%20of%20JFK-King%20Reinvestigation/Item%2014.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211109192941/http://jfk.hood.edu/Collection/Weisberg%20Subject%20Index%20Files/J%20Disk/Justice%20Department%20of/Justice%20Department%20of%20JFK-King%20Reinvestigation/Item%2014.pdf |archive-date=November 9, 2021 |access-date=January 17, 2022 |website=The Harold Weisberg Archive |page=5}}</ref>

===Funeral===
{{main|State funeral of John F. Kennedy|List of dignitaries at the state funeral of John F. Kennedy}}
[[File:JFK's family leaves Capitol after his funeral, 1963.jpg|thumb|left|Kennedy's family leaving his [[State funeral of John F. Kennedy|funeral]] at the [[U.S. Capitol Building]]]]
Kennedy's body was brought back to Washington. On November&nbsp;23, six military pallbearers carried the flag-draped coffin into the [[East Room|East Room of the White House]], where he lay in repose for 24&nbsp;hours.<ref>{{harvnb|Associated Press|1963|pp=36&ndash;37, 56&ndash;57, 68}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|The New York Times|2003|pp=197–201}}</ref> Then, the coffin was carried on a horse-drawn [[Limbers and caissons|caisson]] to the Capitol to lie in state. Throughout the day and night, hundreds of thousands lined up to view the guarded casket,<ref name="WhitePage16">{{harvnb|White|1965|p=16}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|NBC News|1966|pp=106–107, 110, 114–115, 119–123, 133–134}}</ref> with a quarter million passing through the rotunda during the 18 hours of lying in state.<ref name="WhitePage16"/>

Kennedy's funeral service was held on November 25, at [[Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle (Washington, D.C.)|St. Matthew's Cathedral]] in [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref name="WhitePage17">{{harvnb|White|1965|p=17}}</ref> The [[Requiem|Requiem Mass]] was led by [[Cardinal (Catholic Church)|Cardinal]] [[Richard Cushing]], then the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston|Archbishop of Boston]].<ref name="WhitePage17"/> It was attended by approximately 1,200 guests, including representatives from over 90 countries.<ref>{{harvnb|Associated Press|1963|p=93}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|NBC News|1966|p=126}}</ref> After the service, Kennedy was buried at [[Arlington National Cemetery]] in [[Arlington County, Virginia]].<ref>{{harvnb|White|1965|p=18}}</ref>