One of the blackest days in American history: on this day in 1963, John F. Kennedy was murdered as he rode in an open car in Dallas. The 35th president, JFK was the youngest POTUS ever elected, the fourth to be murdered, and, at just 46 years of age, the youngest president to die 
As JFK's casket lay in the back of Air Force One, Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as the 36th President. A 24-year old man, Lee Harvey Oswald, was quickly arrested and charged with the President's murder—and that of a Dallas policeman—but was himself gunned down two days later
The killing of Oswald, by a shady nightclub owner named Jack Ruby, sparked talk of a JFK conspiracy that has never abated, though to this day no conclusive evidence has ever surfaced that one existed
Three of the most definitive books on the assassination—William Manchester's "The Death of a President," Vincent Bugliosi's "Reclaiming History" and Gerald Posner's "Case Closed"—make the case that Oswald, and Oswald alone, planned and carried out President Kennedy's murder
The assassination of President Kennedy sent shockwaves around the world and brought America to a halt for three unforgettable days. It is often said America lost its innocence that day, and ushered in a difficult era that included Vietnam and Watergate
