Kennedy Assassination

Newspaper articles about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy tell the story of a nation that reacted with shock and mourning. From the very minute the President was shot on November 22, 1963, news wires began humming; transmitting every piece of information they could gather. By 1:38 AM, they were sending the grimmest news since the attack on Pearl Harbor, the 35th President of the United States was dead.

President Kennedy and his wife, Jacqueline, were in Texas on a two-day trip to bolster support for Texas Democrats as they moved into the 1964 election season. After giving a speech in San Antonio in which he defended the Space program, attending a testimonial dinner for Representative Albert Thomas, D-Tex, in Houston and delivering a breakfast speech in Fort Worth, the couple arrived in Dallas. The President and the First Lady climbed off of Air Force One at Love Field in Dallas and entered the Presidential Limousine, which was to take them to the Dallas Trade Mart. The motorcade would travel through downtown Dallas on a highly publicized route. At 12:30 PM as the motorcade was approaching Dealey Plaza, shots rang out. Three shots were fired in total, two of which struck the president, first in the throat and then in the head. President Kennedy died less than an hour later.

NewspaperARCHIVE.com, the largest database of newspapers online, is providing a free archive of material relating to the assassination of President Kennedy. Within the archive, you will find articles on the President's trip to Texas, the speeches in the days preceding his assassination, as well as coverage of the immediate aftermath of the assassination and the presidential funeral. Click on the timeline above to view newspapers in chronological order or begin searching the newspaper pages with your own key words.