National Archives and Records AdministrationThis photo was taken moments before the Kennedy assassination.Images from the assassination of John F. Kennedy are seared into the national consciousness. Jackie Kennedys blood-spattered pink dress. The presidents final wave, his final smile. The small figure of his son, John F. Kennedy Jr., saluting his fathers coffin during the presidents somber funeral. So, what exactly happened during the JFK assassination? Depending on who you ask, the Kennedy assassination was either a simple case of a lone-wolf killer, Lee Harvey Oswald, or an impossible tangle of conspiracy, foreign actors, and the mob. But the story ends the same in either case. On a sunny afternoon in Texas, on a day that no one expected would be consequential, the United States changed forever. This is the story of the John F. Kennedy assassination, the moment that ended the sunny days of Americas Camelot. What Year Was John F. Kennedy Assassinated?John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. The 46-year-old president had been elected in 1960 and was gearing up to run for a second term in office. According to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Kennedy had not yet announced his candidacy, but he was laying the foundation for it. That September, he had spoken in nine different states in just one week.When Was JFK Assassinated?The Kennedy assassination took place on Nov. 22, 1963, at 12:30 p.m. Where Was JFK Going When He Was Assassinated?On the morning of the John F. Kennedy assassination, the president started his day in Fort Worth, Texas. He spoke to a small crowd gathered outside of his hotel famously telling them, Mrs. Kennedy is organizing herself. It takes longer, but, of course, she looks better than we do when she does it before flying with his wife to their next stop in Dallas. Public DomainJohn F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy arriving in Dallas on the morning of Nov. 22, 1963.Upon their arrival, the presidential couple joined Texas Governor John Connally and his wife, Nellie, who were waiting in a 1961 black Lincoln Continental limousine. The cars top was down, and the foursome headed from the airport to the Dallas Trade Mart, where Kennedy was scheduled to speak. They were also accompanied by Vice President Lyndon Johnson and his wife, Lady Bird Johnson, who followed them in a different car.Their route fatefully took them through downtown Dallas.Where Was The John F. Kennedy Assassination?The presidential motorcade had a ten-mile route from Dallas Love Field to the Dallas Trade Mart. Crowds thronged the streets to see the president, and excitement was rife each time people caught a glimpse of Kennedy and the first lady sitting together in the back of the car. Then, at 12:30 p.m., Kennedys car turned off Main Street and onto Dealey Plaza. And it was here, to the horror of the crowd, that sudden shots rang out. What Were JFKs Last Words?According to Four Days in November: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy by Vincent Bugliosi, John F. Kennedy spoke his last words in response to a question. Shortly before shots rang out, Nellie Connally turned around and said: Mr. President, they cant make you believe now that there are not some in Dallas who love you and appreciate you, can they? Kennedy responded with his last words: No, they sure cant.While some have reported that John F. Kennedys last words were, My God, Ive been hit, this would have likely been impossible for the president to say, given how hed been shot.How Was John F. Kennedy Assassinated?According to the Warren Commission, Kennedy was shot with a 6.5mm Mannlicher-Carcano rifle. Public DomainA depiction of how one of the bullets hit the president. Kennedy was struck twice.One bullet hit Kennedy in his upper back, just to the right of his spine, and exited the front of his neck. The next bullet hit Kennedy in the back of his skull and exited from the right side of his head.How Many Times Was Kennedy Shot?John F. Kennedy was shot two times, and Texas Governor John Connally was shot once. Though badly injured with a shattered rib, splintered bones in his wrist and arm, and bullet wounds to his back, lung, chest, and thigh, Connally survived. However, though the assassin fired three shots, the Warren Commission determined that one bullet had hit both Kennedy and Connally. The missing third bullet apparently missed its mark. Could JFK Survive The First Shot?Yes, it is likely that John F. Kennedy could have survived the first shot to his neck. According to the Los Angeles Times, the first bullet that struck the president passed through his neck without striking any bone. It even missed his larynx, which means that Kennedy could have recovered without any impairments to his speech. Malcolm Oliver Perry, one of the doctors who attended to Kennedy, later testified that the injury was tolerable. However, the second shot decisively killed the president.Why Did Jackie Kennedy Crawl To The Back Of The Car?In footage of the JFK assassination, Jackie Kennedy can be seen climbing toward the back of the car. According to Secret Service agent Clint Hill, who was in the car behind the presidential couple and who famously threw himself onto their limo to protect them, the first lady was trying to gather fragments of the presidents head. Public DomainClint Hill famously leapt onto the presidential car after Kennedy was shot, though by then it was too late to save the president.Why did Mrs. Kennedy come up in the back of the car? Because she was trying to gather some of the material that came off the presidents head and was on the back of the car, Hill stated during a 2013 lecture, as reported by CBS News at the time.How Long Did JFK Survive After Being Shot?After John F. Kennedy was shot, he was rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital and arrived there around 12:38 p.m. Doctors who attended to him initially reported that they could hear a heartbeat but detected no pulse or blood pressure. The president was declared dead at 1 p.m., 30 minutes after he was shot. He was 46 years old.Who Assassinated John F. Kennedy?According to the Warren Commission, the assassin of John F. Kennedy was a 24-year-old American man named Lee Harvey Oswald.Who Was Lee Harvey Oswald?Though just 24 years old, Lee Harvey Oswald had led a colorful life. Hed served in the Marines, defected to the Soviet Union, and immersed himself in the pro-Cuba, pro-Fidel Castro cause. Before the Kennedy assassination, Oswald had also tried to kill U.S. Army General Edwin Walker, likely because of Walkers anti-communist, anti-Castro views. That assassination was unsuccessful. But Oswalds next attempt would change history.Public DomainLee Harvey Oswald, the man who shot John F. Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963.The Warren Commission found that on Nov. 22, 1963, Oswald had gone to the Texas School Book Depository, where he worked, and which had a clear view of Dealey Plaza. There, he waited on the sixth floor until Kennedys motorcade passed beneath his window and fired three shots. That afternoon, Oswald was stopped by Dallas police officer J. D. Tippit, who seemingly approached Oswald because he matched a description of Kennedys assassin. Oswald killed Tippit and was arrested shortly afterward. He denied having anything to do with the Kennedy assassination, claiming that he was a patsy who hadnt shot anybody. But before anyone could determine Oswalds motive, he was shot by nightclub owner Jack Ruby on Nov. 24, two days after John F. Kennedys assassination.Why Was JFK Assassinated?After its investigation into the Kennedy assassination, the Warren Commission concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald had acted alone but could not offer a reason for why hed decided to kill the president. Though it could not make any definitive determination of Oswalds motives, the commission speculated that Oswald could have acted out of his resentment of authority, his inability to form meaningful relationships, his desire to do something that would make history, his capacity for violence, and his Marxist and communist beliefs. But his reasons remain a mystery.That said, some certainly believe that Lee Harvey Oswald was just a patsy as hed claimed. And in the decades since John F. Kennedys assassination, other theories about the presidents death have emerged.What Are The John F. Kennedy Assassination Conspiracy Theories?There are multiple theories about who killed John F. Kennedy. Some have to do with suspicious figures seen near Dealey Plaza, including a man with an umbrella and a woman wearing a babushka. But there are other more tangible suspects as well, many of whom were gathered by New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison.Some of Garrisons suspects include David Ferrie, an eccentric who had known Oswald and who allegedly was supposed to be his getaway pilot, and Clay Shaw, a New Orleans businessman whom Garrison even put on trial. Garrison believed that Oswald, Ferrie, and Shaw had worked together, likely at the prodding of the CIA and, indeed, Shaw did have CIA ties. Bettmann/Getty ImagesDavid Ferrie in 1967. He died that year by suicide, shortly before Garrison planned to arrest him.Another theory about the JFK assassination, however, suggests that Kennedy was killed at the behest of mobsters like Carlos Marcello and Santo Trafficante Jr., both of whom allegedly admitted a connection to the assassination. Muddying the waters further, Trafficante claimed he had also worked with the CIA in a plot to assassinate Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Other theories suggest that the Soviet Union was involved or that Kennedys vice president, Lyndon Johnson, had a hand in the assassination. None of these theories have been proven, though one journalist, Dorothy Kilgallen, died mysteriously while trying to untangle the truth.Who Became Vice President When Kennedy Was Assassinated?After the Kennedy assassination, his vice president, Lyndon B. Johnson, was sworn in on Air Force One at Dallas Love Field at 2:38 p.m. that same day. But according to the LBJ Presidential Library, Johnson did not have a vice president for 14 months.At the time, there was no way to appoint a new vice president (this was rectified in 1967 with the 25th Amendment). Instead, Johnsons immediate successor was Speaker of the House John McCormack of Massachusetts. It wasnt until Johnson won the presidential election of 1964 that his running mate, Hubert H. Humphrey, became the vice president on Jan. 20, 1965.Was Jackies Pink Suit Cleaned?No, Jackie Kennedys pink suit was never cleaned. According to the diary of Lady Bird Johnson, she offered to help Jackie change clothes, but Jackie refused. And then, with almost an element of fierceness if a person that gentle, that dignified, can be said to have such a quality she said, I want them to see what they have done to Jack,' Lady Bird wrote. Somehow, that was one of the most poignant sights that immaculate woman, exquisitely dressed and caked in blood. Public DomainJackie Kennedy wearing her bloodstained pink dress during the swearing in of Lyndon B. Johnson.In the famous photo of Lyndon Johnsons swearing in, Jackie Kennedy is indeed wearing her bloodstained pink dress. The dress has never been cleaned, nor has it been shown publicly. Its held at the National Archives and will not be displayed until 2103 assuming the Kennedy family agrees to it at that point. Was JFKs Brain Ever Found?One of the oddities of the Kennedy assassination has to do with JFKs brain. It was removed during the presidents autopsy and transferred to the National Archives. But by 1966, Kennedys brain had vanished. And no, it has not been found in the decades since.Where did it go? Theories abound. Some believe that the brain was stolen to obscure the truth of John F. Kennedys assassination. Others suspect it was quietly taken by the presidents brother, Robert F. Kennedy, to hide the extent of Kennedys illnesses and the medications he was taking.But perhaps it was simply lost, somehow. How Many Kennedys Were Assassinated?Sadly, John F. Kennedy was not the only member of the Kennedy family to be assassinated. His brother Robert was also assassinated. In 1969, RFK was killed by Sirhan Sirhan while campaigning for president.Indeed, the Kennedy family has had its fair share of tragedy. In 1999, 36 years after hed saluted his fathers coffin, John F. Kennedy Jr. died in a plane crash that also killed his wife, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, and sister-in-law, Lauren Bessette. After reading about the assassination of John F. Kennedy, discover the sad, little-known story of Arabella Kennedy, JFK and Jackies firstborn daughter. Or, learn about Rosemary Kennedy, JFKs sister who was lobotomized.The post Everything You Need To Know About The Assassination Of John F. Kennedy appeared first on All That's Interesting.