November 22: On This Day in World History … briefly
Oswald was arrested by the Dallas Police Department 70 minutes after the initial shooting and charged under Texas state law with the murder of Kennedy, as well as that of Dallas policeman JD Tippit, who had been fatally shot a short time after the assassination.
1963: World mourns for Kennedy
The world was in mourning at the news that President John F Kennedy had been shot and killed in Dallas, Texas. The 46-year old President and Mrs Jacqueline Kennedy were in Texas on the latest leg of a tour of the southern states to gather support for the Democratic Party.
The fatal shooting occurred as the presidential motorcade swept through Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas. The president died in his wife’s arms during the dash to the nearest hospital.
Accounts of the event were confused, with witnesses claiming to have heard one or more shots from several directions, but a high-powered rifle was found in an upstairs room of the Texas School Book Depository, the window of which overlooked Dealey Plaza.
Later that day Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested and charged with the murder, Vice-President Lyndon B Johnson was sworn in as president on the flight back to Washington.
Most notable historic snippets or facts extracted from the book ‘On This Day’ first published in 1992 by Octopus Publishing Group Ltd, London, as well as additional supplementary information extracted from Wikipedia.
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