The sudden tragic death of a prime minister, president, or world leader sends a nation to deep resonating grief.
While every country has its mechanism to allow for a smooth transition of power and swift transfer of authority without much of a fuss, the event may deliver enough of a shocking blow to the point where the disturbances that follow shake the very foundation of the government.
There have been plenty of presidential assassination attempts and plots in the United States alone since the mid-1800s.
After the killing of Abraham Lincoln in 1865, security details surrounding every president after him saw some intense improvements, but some assassins still succeeded.
John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, was also forced to end his tenure in a tragic death.
During his term (1961 – 1963), he faced several foreign crises but secured important achievements such as Alliance for Progress and Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
President Kennedy was assassinated on Friday, November 22, 1963, while riding a motorcade in Dallas. Many agree that the tragedy changed the course of history.
10 /10 Texas School Book Depository
The planned route for the motorcade required the president to travel through the Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas, Texas.
Someone fired off multiple shots as the president’s convertible passed the Texas School Book Depository at around 12:30 p.m. President Kennedy took two bullets, one of them in the head.
History records that Lee Harvey Oswald was the accused assassin, armed with a Mannlicher–Carcano rifle fitted with a scope.
Interviews with witnesses put him on the depository’s sixth floor, reportedly where the shots came from.
9 /10 Parkland Memorial Hospital
One bullet pierced President Kennedy at the base of his neck, exiting through the throat.
The subsequent investigation suggested that the same bullet was powerful enough to strike Texas Governor John B. Connally – who was driving the convertible – in the shoulder and wrist before resting in his thigh.
Another bullet hit the president in the back of the head. Immediately the president was rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital nearby.
About 30 minutes after the shooting, President John F. Kenney was pronounced dead. The nation learned about the incident over the next hour.