May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963
Today marks the 50th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. For the past few weeks, news outlets have been recounting the events surrounding November 22, 1963 and the aftermath of that day. The death of JFK wasn’t the first tragedy that the Kennedy family had suffered and certainly it was not the last. The Kennedy family would go on to suffer many more public heartaches, including another assassination.
The Kennedy family was not the only family to lose a loved one that day. Lee Harvey Oswald also shot J.D. Tippit that day – a 39-year old police officer who had been serving as an officer for 11 years. Even amidst her own grief, Mrs. Kennedy found the time to reach out to Mrs. Tippit to send her condolences for the loss of Mrs. Tippit’s husband. Mrs. Tippit has said that it meant a lot to her to know that someone else could understand her pain and grief – which Jackie Kennedy surely could.
President Kennedy would be 96 today if he were still living. Even for those of us who were not alive at his death it is hard to imagine John Kennedy at such an age given that his image is emblazoned in our minds as the promising 46-year old president. To go back in time to that fateful day, and the few days following, check out The New York Times interactive page here.
