Photo of Lee Harvey Oswald moments before he was shot by Jack Ruby

Object number1994.003.0120

Date11/24/1963

ClassificationsPhotographs

Photographer Jack Beers

ObjectPhotograph (b&w)

Credit LineTom C. Dillard Collection, The Dallas Morning News/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza

MediumPaper, Photo

Dimensions10 x 8 in. (25.4 x 20.3 cm)

Terms

Collections

DescriptionBlack and white photographic print by Dallas Morning News photographer Jack Beers. Image shows Lee Harvey Oswald moments before he was shot by Jack Ruby in the basement of the Dallas Police Department Headquarters during his jail transfer on November 24, 1963 in Dallas, Texas. Lee Harvey Oswald appears walking between Dallas Police officers Jim Leavelle and L.C. Graves. In the lower right corner, Jack Ruby is seen lurching forward with his .38 Colt Cobra Revolver in his right hand, aiming directly at Oswald.

Curatorial Commentary

Dallas Morning News photographer Jack Beers took this image six-tenths of a second before rival photographer Bob Jackson of the Dallas Times Herald snapped the iconic photo of Lee Harvey Oswald reacting to the fatal gunshot by Jack Ruby. Jackson's photo ultimately won the 1964 Pulitzer Prize for News Photography. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator