World leaders react with dismay and shock to news of President Kennedy’s assassination. Messages of condolence continue to arrive in Washington from all over the world, with the exceptions of mainland China, and Albania.
Premier Nikita S. Khrushchev returned to Moscow from a tour Saturday for an extraordinary call at the U.S. Embassy to express his condolences on the death of President Kennedy. Khrushchev called the assassination heinous and said it was a heavy blow to those who cherish peace and U.S.-Soviet cooperation. Wearing a black suit, the Soviet leader signed a book of condolences at the residence of the U.S. Ambassador Foy D. Kohler after he sent messages to President Lyndon B. Johnson and Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy. “All people who knew him greatly respected him and I shall always keep the memory of my meetings with him,” Khrushchev said in his message to Mrs. Kennedy.
Paris: Flags of the 15 member North Atlantic Treaty nations will fly at half-staff for the next three days. A specially called meeting of the NATO council will convene Monday noon to pay tribute to Kennedy. Secretary General Dirk Stikker sent telegrams to President Johnson and Mrs. Kennedy.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaya: Malaysian Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman called the assassination a “stunning shock for the free world.”
Jakarta, Indonesia: President Sukarno said “a great United States leader has vanished. May God give President Kennedy a proper place in heaven.”
Phnom Penh, Cambodia: Head of State Norodom Sihanouk, whose government angrily renounced American aid this week, ordered two days of national mourning. He also ordered a halt in anti-American attacks.
Cairo, Egypt: President Gamal Abdel Nasser cabled Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy that he was “shocked at this horrible crime.”
Accra, Ghana: President Kwame Nkrumah said Kennedy was “my personal friend and a great statesman.”
Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanganyika: President Julius Nyerere declared a day of national mourning, saying Kennedy’s sacrifice will “not be in vain. His example will be a lasting challenge to the American people in the days ahead.”
Pretoria, South Africa: Premier Hendrix F. Verwoerd, himself wounded by an assassin three years ago, asked several thousand persons attending a parade to stand in silence as a token of sympathy.
Madrid: Three days of government-ordered mourning began as a mission headed by Vice Premier General Augustin Munoz Grandes left by air for Washington and Monday’s service.
Lima, Peru: President Fernando Belaunde Terry decreed Monday a day of national mourning.
New Delhi, India: Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru cabled Mrs. Kennedy that “this dastardly act has ended in the prime of life a distinguished and noble career… The world has lost a distinguished and high-minded statesman.”
Ankara, Turkey: Turkish radio played only serious music. Concerts by Duke Ellington and his band were canceled.
Oslo, Norway: Flags flew at half-staff as King Olav sent messages of condolence to Mrs. Kennedy and President Johnson.
Taipei, Formosa: With three days of mourning to start tomorrow, President Chiang Kai-shek expressed Nationalist China’s “shock and grief.”
Premier Fidel Castro said Saturday night that Cuba may face “an even worse policy” from the United States as a result of President Kennedy’s assassination. Cuba may be confronted with a new U.S.-backed invasion under President Johnson, he said. Speaking in a special Havana radio and television address which was monitored here, Castro called Mr. Kennedy’s slaying “grave and bad news” for Cuba. But the Cuban leader, who has continuously attacked, insulted, and berated Mr. Kennedy, even before he won the 1960 Presidential election, said his assassination “has no justification.”
Italian Premier-designate Aldo Moro, secretary of the dominant Christian Democratic party, said today that an agreement had been reached with leaders of the three other political parties on a basis for a coalition center-left government. The accord of the Christian Democrats, Republicans, Democratic Socialists, and left-wing Socialists now goes to the central committees of these parties for ratification or rejection. If the accord is ratified, Moro will report to President Antonio Segni that he is willing to form the government that will include Socialists for the first time in 16 years. If one or more of the parties reject the accord, a crisis would ensue. This could lead to new national elections.
John F. Kennedy’s body lies in repose in the East Room of the White House.
President Lyndon Baines Johnson proclaims November 25 a day of national mourning for John F. Kennedy.
As disclosed by police in bits and pieces today, this was the physical evidence against Lee Harvey Oswald, accused assassin of President Kennedy:
- His wife said he owned a rifle similar to the one used by the sniper who shot President Kennedy.
- Through ballistics tests and handwriting analysis, Oswald was definitely linked to the mail-order purchase of the rifle used in the assassination.
- The rifle was not in its accustomed place in a garage, but police found the death rifle in a room overlooking the assassination site.
- Paraffin tests for gunpowder on his hands were “positive,” police said.
- Police disclosed photographs of Oswald posing with the rifle and with a pistol used to kill a pursuing policeman after the assassination.
- Oswald once threatened Governor John B. Connally, then navy secretary, that he would “employ any means” to get even for a wrong he believed committed against him as a marine. Connally was wounded with Kennedy.
- He was employed in the building where the sniper hid.
- He qualified as a sharpshooter in the marine corps.
- He was seen in the building right after the assassination.
There was more, but police refused to divulge what they called a “cinched” case against Oswald.
Former Vice President Richard M. Nixon, who was narrowly beaten by the late John F. Kennedy, in the 1960 race for the nation’s highest office, made this comment today: “The assassination of the President is a terrible tragedy for the nation. Mrs. Nixon and I have sent a personal message expressing our sympathy to the members of the family in this hour of sorrow.”
Caroline Kennedy, who will be 6 on Wednesday, and her brother John, Jr. were told last night that their father had died. The two had dinner with Mrs. Hugh Auchincloss, their maternal grandmother, in her Georgetown home. Then they returned to the White House where Mrs. Maude Shaw, their governess, broke the news to Caroline. Mrs. Shaw also informed Caroline when her infant brother, Patrick, died last August. Today, Caroline was described as quiet and still, a striking change for a child so vivacious and gay, who used to burst into her late father’s office and dart up and down the White House halls.
Mrs. Kennedy returned to the White House from the Bethesda Naval Hospital at 4:30 a.m. today. She rode in the hearse that bore her husband’s body in a coffin. She still wore the pink suit, stained by his blood, she had worn in the Dallas parade. She said her last goodbye in the hospital, those near her reported. She slipped her wedding ring on the slain President’s finger and kissed him. Then the casket was closed.
Shortly after it was placed upon the catafalque [platform] in the black crepe-draped White House East room, Mrs. Kennedy and 14 others heard brief prayers said by two priests who remained with the flag-draped casket through the night. Mrs. Kennedy snatched a few hours of sleep, then, at 10 a.m. today, she and the children attended a private mass in the East Room. It is believed to be the first mass ever said in the executive mansion. Attorney General Robert Kennedy, the late President’s brother, carried little John into the mass, some persons present said. Caroline wept a little during the service, it was reported. This morning, President Johnson and his wife visited Mrs. Kennedy in the family, second floor living quarters for 20 minutes.
A fire at the Golden Age Nursing Home, located at Fitchville, Ohio, killed 63 elderly people. Investigators concluded that the fire was caused by the overloading of electrical circuits, and that the lack of plans for an evacuation procedure, the lack of a fire hydrant within five miles of the facility, and the lack of knowledge of the correct fire department to call added to the death toll. Tragically, the first call to a phone operator for help went to the fire department of Norwalk, Ohio, but the dispatcher declined to respond because Fitchville was outside of the Norwalk jurisdiction. The New London, Ohio department did not reach the scene until half an hour after the electrical fire, traced to the plugging in of a steam table, had started.
“12 Angry Men” director Sidney Lumet (39) weds Lena Horne’s daughter Gail Jones.
“Tambourines to Glory” closes at Little Theater NYC after 24 performances.
At 5:15 p.m. on the BBC television network, the very first episode of the series “Doctor Who” was broadcast. William Hartnell was the first actor to portray the title character, in a story entitled “An Unearthly Child.” During the first 60 years of the show’s run, 15 actors would portray the Doctor, and the change of appearance would be explained as the ability of Time Lords to accomplish “regeneration”.
Born:
Dale Sveum, MLB shortstop, third baseman, and first baseman (Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago White Sox, Oakland A’s, Seattle Mariners, Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Yankees) and coach, in Richmond, California.
Rich Sauveur, MLB pitcher (Pittsburgh Pirates, Montreal Expos, New York Mets, Kansas City Royals, Chicago White Sox, Oakland A’s), in Arlington, Virginia.
Gary Wilkins, NFL tight end (Buffalo Bills, Atlanta Falcons), in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Pat Snyder, NFL linebacker (Indianapolis Colts), in Indiana.
David Nelson, NFL running back (Minnesota Vikings), in Miami, Florida.
Gwynne Shotwell, American engineer and businesswoman (SpaceX), in Evanston, Illinois.
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