The JFK Assassination
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas on November 22, 1963. The killing is established history. Who was responsible—and whether Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone—remains one of America’s most persistent public disputes.
The official record
Later investigations did not produce one universally accepted account. These labels identify whose conclusion is being summarized rather than asking the reader to accept it.
Kennedy was shot in Dealey Plaza
The presidential motorcade was passing through Dealey Plaza shortly after 12:30 p.m. Kennedy was taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital and pronounced dead.
Oswald acted alone
The Commission concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald fired the shots from the Texas School Book Depository and found no evidence that he or Jack Ruby was part of a conspiracy.
A probable conspiracy
The House Select Committee on Assassinations agreed that Oswald fired the shots that killed Kennedy but concluded that Kennedy was probably assassinated as the result of a conspiracy. Its acoustic basis was later heavily disputed.
The files are still being examined
The National Archives maintains the JFK Assassination Records Collection. Successive releases—including a major 2025 release—continue to supply records for researchers, without automatically settling how every document should be interpreted.
From Dallas to disclosure
- Kennedy is assassinatedShots strike the presidential motorcade in Dealey Plaza. Lee Harvey Oswald is arrested later that day.
- Jack Ruby kills OswaldRuby shoots Oswald in the basement of Dallas police headquarters during a live television broadcast, preventing a trial.
- The Warren Commission reportsThe Commission presents its report to President Lyndon B. Johnson and concludes that Oswald and Ruby each acted alone.
- Congress reopens the caseThe House Select Committee on Assassinations reexamines the murders of Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. and reaches a different bottom-line judgment on conspiracy.
- Congress mandates disclosureThe JFK Assassination Records Collection Act creates a legal framework for centralizing and releasing assassination records.
- Additional records are releasedThe National Archives publishes another large set of digitized JFK records for public access and analysis.
Four enduring disputes
The single-bullet conclusion
The Warren Commission’s reconstruction says one bullet passed through Kennedy and wounded Governor John Connally. Critics dispute the trajectory, timing, and condition of the recovered bullet; defenders argue the seating positions and evidence support it.
Where did the shots come from?
Witness recollections, the Zapruder film, and reactions in Dealey Plaza have produced competing reconstructions. Human perception during a sudden event and the limits of the surviving media remain central problems.
The possible fourth shot
The House committee’s conspiracy conclusion leaned on an analysis of a police dictabelt recording. Later scientific reviews challenged whether the impulses were gunshots recorded at the time of the assassination.
Oswald’s political history
Oswald’s defection to the Soviet Union, pro-Castro activity, Mexico City trip, and contacts have generated extensive suspicion. A documented contact or association does not by itself establish operational control.
Major theories in the library
Each card states a claim attributed to its proponents. It is not an endorsement. Follow a theory to see its cited sources and mapped connections.
CIA involvement
Claims that elements of the intelligence community planned, facilitated, or concealed the assassination.
Follow this theory →Organized crime
Claims that Mafia figures retaliated against the Kennedys over prosecutions, Cuba, or broken political understandings.
Follow this theory →Lyndon Johnson involvement
Claims that Vice President Johnson knew of, enabled, or benefited from a plot against Kennedy.
Follow this theory →Cuban retaliation
Claims that Fidel Castro or Cuban intelligence retaliated for U.S. covert operations and attempts against Castro.
Follow this theory →Federal Reserve motive
Claims Kennedy’s Executive Order 11110 threatened the Federal Reserve. The premise and legal effect of the order are strongly disputed.
Follow this theory →Dimona nuclear dispute
Claims pressure over Israel’s Dimona nuclear program supplied a motive for Kennedy’s assassination.
Follow this theory →Source guide
A government document proves what an agency recorded or concluded—not necessarily that every statement inside it is true. This hierarchy helps readers understand what kind of material they are opening.
- Warren Commission Report — National Archives, full report and chapters
- JFK Assassination Records available online — National Archives collection portal
- 2025 JFK records release — National Archives release index
- Open the JFK theory node — local graph and connected entities