A Brief History
On March 14, 1964, Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby was convicted of killing the alleged assassin of President John F. Kennedy, Lee Harvey Oswald. Ruby was sentenced to death for the murder, which had been broadcast live on national TV, but on appeal a new trial was ordered that did not happen when Ruby died of a pulmonary embolism in 1967.
Digging Deeper
Born Jacob Leon Rubenstein in Chicago to parents of Polish/Jewish heritage, Ruby got in trouble as a juvenile but later served in the US Army during World War II. Moving to Dallas, Ruby was involved in shady businesses such as strip clubs and prostitution and became acquainted with many Dallas police officers.
After Oswald allegedly killed JFK on November 22, 1963, Ruby shot and killed Oswald on November 24th, destroying the chance for further investigation into Oswald’s motives and/or actual involvement.
Ruby’s untimely death only fed the rumor mill over the JFK murder which persists to this day.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Abrams, Dan and David Fisher. Kennedy’s Avenger: Assassination, Conspiracy, and the Forgotten Trial of Jack Ruby. Hanover Square Press, 2021.
Fingeroth, Danny. Jack Ruby: The Many Faces of Oswald’s Assassin. Chicago Review Press, 2023.
The featured image in this article, a mugshot of Jack Ruby taken November 24, 1963, after his arrest for killing Lee Harvey Oswald, is in the public domain in the United States because it was published in the United States between 1929 and 1977, inclusive, without a copyright notice. For further explanation, see Commons:Hirtle chart as well as a detailed definition of “publication” for public art.
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