This historian is live tweeting the assassination of John F. Kennedy

Michael Beschloss is live-tweeting one of the most infamous moments in American history on its anniversary

By Jennie Neufeld

Published November 22, 2017 3:45PM (EST)

President John F. Kennedy, next to Jacqueline Kennedy, waves from his car in a motorcade in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963 (AP/Jim Altgens)
President John F. Kennedy, next to Jacqueline Kennedy, waves from his car in a motorcade in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963 (AP/Jim Altgens)

Over the past day, presidential historian Michael Beschloss has been live-tweeting the anniversary of one of America’s most infamous moments: The assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Starting on November 21st, Beschloss went (figuratively) back in time to 1963, to paint a picture of what it was like to be an American on the day one of the country's most beloved presidents died in an assassination that would color everything that came after it.

The live tweets come less than a month after President Donald Trump chose to release a bulk of the files on JFK's assassination, which have provided at least some insight into what had been unanswered questions for decades, from the supposed reasoning behind Harvey Lee Oswald's attack to the mysterious identity of Clint Hill, Kennedy's secret service agent who protected the Kennedys on the drive to the hospital.

Beschloss has long held a penchant for reliving moments in history. He often posts photos on the anniversaries of presidential moments, from Richard Nixon’s 1973 “I’m not a crook” speech to the capturing of what Beschloss called “one of the most evocative photographs ever made of American political history,” an image of Kennedy and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, as Johnson attempts to silence a pilot who was revving a plane’s engines to overpower Kennedy's voice.

But this Thanksgiving eve, Beschloss turned his attention to Kennedy's death. Beschloss begins with the very moment Kennedy landed in Dallas, continuing all the way to the rush to the hospital, with extra context, photographs of the trauma room in which Kennedy was treated and citizens unaware of what had happened. It's brutal, illuminating and gripping and worth a follow.

Embark in history below:


By Jennie Neufeld

MORE FROM Jennie Neufeld