Today in History, November 22nd
On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. Plus Blackbeard's last fight, Toy Story, and more.
Published · Last updated
November 22 is best known as the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas in 1963. It is also the day the pirate Blackbeard was killed off North Carolina in 1718 and the day Pixar’s Toy Story, the first fully computer-animated feature film, reached theaters in 1995.
The big story: President John F. Kennedy is assassinated (1963)
It was supposed to be a routine political trip to Texas. Around 12:30 p.m., Kennedy’s open car was moving through downtown Dallas past the Texas School Book Depository when shots rang out from the building’s sixth floor. Kennedy was fatally wounded, and Texas Governor John Connally, riding in the same car, was seriously hurt. The president was pronounced dead at Parkland Hospital about half an hour later, at age 46. At 2:39 p.m., Lyndon B. Johnson took the oath of office aboard Air Force One at Love Field. Police arrested Lee Harvey Oswald in a movie theater that afternoon, after he allegedly killed officer J.D. Tippit. The Warren Commission concluded in 1964 that Oswald acted alone, though a later House committee suggested a probable conspiracy. For a generation of Americans, the question “Where were you when you heard?” needed no further explanation.
More events on November 22
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1718 | The pirate Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard, was killed near Ocracoke Island, North Carolina, by a British naval force sent from Virginia. |
| 1900 | The first car sold under the Mercedes name took its first drive in Cannstatt, Germany. It was named for the 11-year-old daughter of a big-spending customer. |
| 1943 | Lebanon proclaimed its independence from France, though full independence came only in 1946. |
| 1968 | Star Trek aired a kiss between Captain Kirk and Lieutenant Uhura, a landmark interracial kiss on American television. |
| 1975 | Juan Carlos became king of Spain, two days after the death of Francisco Franco. |
| 1986 | Mike Tyson, 20, knocked out Trevor Berbick to become the youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history. |
| 1988 | The U.S. Air Force publicly unveiled the B-2 stealth bomber. |
| 1990 | Margaret Thatcher announced her resignation as British prime minister after a split in her Conservative Party. |
| 1995 | Pixar released Toy Story, the first feature-length film made entirely with computer animation. |
| 2005 | Angela Merkel was sworn in as chancellor of Germany, the first woman to hold the job. |
| 2014 | A Cleveland police officer shot 12-year-old Tamir Rice, who was holding a toy pellet gun outside a recreation center. He died the next day, and his case drew national attention to police shootings of Black Americans. |
Born on November 22
- 1643: René-Robert Cavelier, sieur de La Salle, French explorer of the Mississippi River valley.
- 1819: George Eliot, English novelist best known for Middlemarch.
- 1890: Charles de Gaulle, leader of the Free French in World War II and later president of France.
- 1943: Billie Jean King, American tennis champion, born in Long Beach, California.
Sources
- President John F. Kennedy is assassinated, History.com
- On This Day: November 22, Encyclopaedia Britannica
- This Day in History: November 22, History.com
- Blackbeard killed off North Carolina, History.com
- First Mercedes goes for a test drive, History.com
- “Star Trek” airs the interracial kiss heard around the universe, History.com
- 12-year-old Tamir Rice shot and killed by police, History.com
- Billie Jean King, Encyclopaedia Britannica
