Lee Harvey Oswald | |
|---|---|
 Oswald on November 23, 1963, one day after the assassination of Kennedy | |
| Born | October 18, 1939 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Died | November 24, 1963 (aged 24) Parkland Hospital, Dallas, Texas, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Gunshot wound |
| Resting place | Rose Hill Cemetery, Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. 32°43′57″N 97°12′12″W / 32.732455°N 97.203223°W |
| Known for | Assassination of John F. Kennedy and murder of Dallas police officer J. D. Tippit |
| Criminal charge | Murder with malice (2 counts) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Service | United States Marine Corps |
| Years of service | 1956–1959 |
| Rank | Private first class (demoted to private) |
| Signature | |
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Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was a U.S. Marine veteran who assassinated John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, on November 22, 1963.
Oswald was placed in juvenile detention at the age of 12 for truancy, during which time he was assessed by a psychiatrist as "emotionally disturbed" due to a lack of normal family life. He attended 12 schools in his youth, quitting repeatedly, and at the age of 17 he joined the Marines, where he was court-martialed twice and jailed. In 1959, he was discharged from active duty into the Marine Corps Reserve, then flew to Europe and defected to the Soviet Union. He lived in Minsk, Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic, married a Russian woman named Marina, and had a daughter. In June 1962, he returned to the United States with his wife, and eventually settled in Dallas, Texas, where their second daughter was born.
Oswald allegedly shot and killed Kennedy on November 22, 1963, from a sixth-floor window of the Texas School Book Depository as Kennedy traveled by motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas. About 45 minutes after the assassination, Oswald allegedly shot and killed Dallas police officer J. D. Tippit on a local street. He then slipped into a movie theater, where he was arrested for Tippit's murder. Oswald was charged with the assassination of Kennedy, but he denied responsibility for the killing, claiming that he was a "patsy" (a fall guy). Two days later, Oswald was fatally shot by local nightclub owner Jack Ruby on live television in the basement of Dallas Police Headquarters.
In September 1964, the Warren Commission concluded that Oswald had acted alone when assassinating Kennedy. This conclusion, though controversial, was supported by investigations from the Dallas Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the United States Secret Service, and the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA).[n 1][1][2] Despite forensic, ballistic, and eyewitness accounts supporting the official findings, public opinion polls have shown that most Americans still do not believe that the official version tells the whole truth of the events,[3] and the assassination spawned numerous conspiracy theories.
Cite error: There are <ref group=n> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=n}} template (see the help page).
- ^ "John F Kennedy, Dallas Police Department Collection – The Portal to Texas History". May 26, 2023. Archived from the original on October 9, 2009. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
- ^ Tunheim, John R. (March 1, 1999). Final Report of the Kennedy Assassination Records Review Board. DIANE Publishing. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-7881-7722-4.
- ^ "Gallop: Most Americans Believe Oswald Conspired With Others to Kill JFK". Gallup.com. April 11, 2001. Archived from the original on January 8, 2009. Retrieved December 24, 2012.