Bob Jackson Oral History

The Museum's Collection includes the Dallas Times Herald newspaper from Monday, November 25, 1963, with Bob Jackson's photograph of Jack Ruby shooting Lee Harvey Oswald on the front page. An image of that front page may be found here in the Museum's online collections database: Dallas Times Herald newspaper with a cover story about the Ruby-Oswald shooting – Works – The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. - Riley Harris, Collections Cataloger

This oral history was recorded when Bob and his wife, Debbie, visited Dallas in March 2025. At that time, Bob made a transformative gift to The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, donating his collection of photographic negatives, slides and prints covering his career as a staff photographer at the Dallas Times Herald from 1960 to 1978. The single largest photographic donation in the Museum's history, the Bob Jackson Collection provides an unprecedented visual exploration of the history and culture of Dallas during an important era of growth and transition. Bob's photography includes social activism, hard news, human interest, local sites, entertainment, sports, automotive, fashion and society, as well as visits by celebrities and dignitaries, including multiple U.S. presidents, John Wayne, Bob Hope, Bette Davis, Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco, and the Beatles. The Bob Jackson Collection totals more than 20,000 images and also includes 20 issues of the local publication Society Section, co-founded by Bob Jackson; cameras and photographic equipment; press badges and related ephemera; Jackson's Pulitzer Prize certificate; Jackson's subpoenas for the 1964 Jack Ruby trial; and a series of scrapbooks created by Bob's late mother to document her son's illustrious career. We are so honored to have the Bob Jackson Collection at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza and very fortunate to consider Bob and Debbie Jackson great friends of our institution. - Stephen Fagin, Curator