“URGENT… PRESIDENT KENNEDY HAS BEEN SHOT”: HISTORIC BREAKING NEWS OF THE KENNEDY ASSASSINATION ON ORIGINAL UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL TELETYPE ROLL (27 FEET, 4 INCHES), 11/22/63

(KENNEDY ASSASSINATION). Original United Press International teletype roll. Dallas, November 22, 1963. Original typescript in blue ink on recto only. Document in one continuous roll measuring 8-1/2 inches by 27 feet, 4 inches. Housed in a custom leather box. $15,000.

Original and continuous United Press International teletype roll reporting the breaking news of the Kennedy assassination, beginning only minutes after the shootings of the President and Governor Connally, noting witness reports of three shots, Mrs. Kennedy’s reaction, Secret Service and police response, pandemonium within Parkland Hospital where the President was ultimately declared dead, and ending with a draft of the President’s obituary. Extremely rare teletype roll of uninterrupted bulletins—UPR 74 to 115—marked 11/22.

An incomparable continuous and uncut original teletype roll of United Press International bulletins reporting news from Dallas, New York City, Chicago and around the world, with immediate accounts of breaking news in the shootings of President Kennedy and Governor John Connally on November 22nd. "An unknown sniper fired three shots… FLASH… Kennedy seriously wounded" headlines the first bulletin, immediately followed by an urgent demand to keep other news stories off the wire, "Stay off all of you Stay off and keep off Get off… Will U P L E A S E Stay off this wire till we give… Stay off Stay off." This is quickly followed by, "A sniper seriously wounded President Kennedy in downtown Dallas today…perhaps fatally." As information is rapidly called in, the next bulletin headlines, "President Kennedy and Governor John Connally of Texas have been cut down by assassins [sic] bullets in downtown Dallas. They were riding in an open automobile when the shots were fired. The President, his limp body cradled in the arms of his wife, Jacqueline, has been rushed to Parkland Hospital." Subsequent bulletins announce news of "three loud bursts of gunfire," police rushing to the grassy knoll alongside the motorcade route, and the words, "He's dead," coming from Mrs. Kennedy's Secret Service agent as "the President was lifted from the rear of the White House touring car" outside Parkland Hospital. The entire typescript is transcribed below with no corrections of errors in spelling or punctuation; only teletype code and two entries containing extended financial news (UPR 83, UPR111-UPR112) are not cited here: Bulletin / (Dallas)1—An unknown sniper fired three shots at Ptouo [sic] / FLASH / Kenneey [sic] / Gtash [sic] / Kennedy seriously wounded—— / Stay off all of you Stay off and Keep Off Get off. / WILL U U P L E A S E Stay off this wire till we give… / Stay off Stay off / Bulletin / (Dallas)—-A sniper seriously wounded LDJ bixent [sic] Kennedy in / downtown Dallas today…perhaps fatally. / Bulletihn [sic]: / (Dallas)—-President Kennedy and Governor John Connally of Texas / have been cut down by assassins [sic] bullets in downtown Dallas. / They were riding in an open automobile when the shots were / fired. / The President, his limp body cradled in the arms of his wife, / Jacqueline, has been rushed to Parkland Hospital. / Stay off / More Kennedy Bulletin X X X hospital. / The Governor was taken to the same hospital. / The President had spoken this morning in Fort Worth, then flew / to Dallas. / He was to deliver a speech during a motorcade through the city. / Newsmen some five care lengths behind the president heard what / sounded like three bursts of gunfire. / Secret Service agents in the car following the President's [sic] / quickly pulled automatic rifles. / The bubble of the President's car was down when the shots / rang out. / The President slumped over in the back seat, face down. / Connally lay on the floor of the rear seat. Wounds in the / Governor's chest were clearly visible. / The wounds indicated an automatic weapon was used. / Three loud bursts of gunfire were heard before the President / and Governor fell. / In the turmoil, it was impossible to determine whether Secret / Service agents and Dallas police returned the fire. / It could not be immediately determined either whether Mrs. Kennedy / or Mrs. Connally were wounded. / Both women were in the car, and were crushed down over the inert / forms of their husbands as the big auto raced toward the hospital. / Mrs. Kennedy could be seen on the floor of the rear seat with her / head toward the President. / Bulletin / (Sub Kennedy) / (Dallas)—-President Kennedy and Governor John Connally of Texas / have been cut down by assassin's bullets. They were shot as they / toured downtown Dallas in an open car. / The President—-His limp body in the arms of his wife—-was rushed / to Parkland Hospital. The Governor also was taken to the same / hospital. / Clint Hill, a Secret Service agent assigned to Mrs. Kennedy said / "He's dead" as the President was lifted from the rear of the White / House touring car. / Mr. Kennedy was rushed to an emergency room in the hospital. / Other White House officials were in doubt as the corridors of the / hospital erupted in pandemonium. / The incident occurred just east of the triple underpass facing / a park in downtown Dallas. / Newsmen in the motorcade heard what sounded like three bursts of / gunfire. / The President was slumped over in the back seat of the car…face down. / Connally lay on the floor of the rear seat. / It was impossible to tell at once where Kennedy was hit. / Bullet wounds were plainly visible in Connally's chest. / It was difficult to tell at first whether the First Lady and Mrs. / Conally [sic] were injured. / An estimated 250-thousand persons lined the streets. / At 12:50 p-m Central time, Acting White House News Secretary / Malcolm Kilduff was asked whether the President was dead. He said / "I have no word now." / Vice President Johnson was in the car behind the President's. / There was no immediate sign that he was hurt. / Some of the Secret Service agents thought the gunfire was from / an automatic weapon fired to the right rear of the President's / car…probably from a grassy knoll to which police rushed. / Congressman Jim Wright of Fort Worth said both Kennedy and Connally / were seriously wounded but were alive. / A call has been sent out from some of the top surgical specialists / in Dallas. A call also went out for a priest. / Urgent / (Hyannis Port, Massachusetts)—-President Kennedy's mother and / father have been advised that their son was shot in Dallas. / They are in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. / Urgent / (Dallas)—-Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy apparently is safe. It / also appears Mrs. Connally was not injured. / Mr. Kennedy, according to a member of his staff, was still alive / at 1:55 EST. / Business Urgent / (New York City)—-Minutes after President Kennedy was shot, stocks / moved actively lower, but a few issues stayed on the upside. / American Telephone was unchanged at 137. Allied Chemical 52 1/2 / down 7/8; United Aircraft 45 1/8 down 1/8; Ford unchanged at 50 1/2; / Chrysler down 3/4 at 80 1/8; I-B-M up 1 1/4 at 465 1/4. / Urgent / (Sub Kennedy) / (Dallas)—-President Kennedy has been shot. / He is perhaps fatally wounded. / The President and Texas Governor John Connally were cut down / by assassin's bullets as they toured downtown Dallas in an / open car. / The President's body was limp…cradled in the arms of his / wife. He was rushed to Parkland Hospital. The Governor also was / taken there. / A call went out for top surgical specialists. / A Roman Catholic priest also was sent for. / Shortly after the shooting…Congressman Jim Wright of Fort / Worth said both the President and Connally were seriously wounded / but were alive. / Blood was spattered over the White House car. / Mr. Kennedy was / slumped over the back seat. Connally lay on the floor of the rear / seat. / Mrs. Kennedy apparently was not hurt. Mrs. Connally also was / safe. / Witnesses said there were three loud bursts of gunfire. / Motorcycle police escorting the President quickly leaped from / their bikes and raced up a grassy hill. / More Sub Kennedy X X X hill. / Some Secret Service agents thought the shots came from an / automatic weapon. / It was impossible to tell where the President was hit…But the / Governor had plainly visible wounds in hist [sic] chest…indicating the / shots came from an automatic weapon. / Bulletin / (New York City)—-The New York Stock Exchange closed operations / today after word of the assassination attempt against President / Kennedy. / The Cotton and Wool Exchanges also closed. / More Sub Kennedy X X X weapon. / At the height of the emergency room drama, a weeping Negro woman / bearing a small bloody child rushed into the hospital where a nurse / and intern quickly went to her side. / Although Dallas is regarded as a center of strong political / opposition to Mr. Kennedy…The heavy street crowds were / overwhelmingly friendly…But there were a few anti-Kennedy placards. / There was one report that the President was wounded in the head. / Mrs. Kennedy was heard to scream as she reached for her husband. / Urgent / (Dallas)—-AT 2:12 p.m. EST a special carton of blood, apparently / for transfusion purposes, was rushed into the emergency ward. / Two Dallas police officers carried the carton. / Pls stay off this wire / Bulletin / (New York City)—-The American Stock Exchange closed operations / today after word of the assassination attempt against President / Kennedy. / Urgent / (Dallas)—-Bill Stinson, an assistant to Governor Connally, said / he talked to the Governor in the hospital operating room. He said / the Governor was shot just below the shoulder blade in the back. / Stinson said he asked Connally how it happened and he said: / I don't know, I guess from the back. They got the President, too." / Urgent / (New York City)—-Keith Funston President of the New York Stock / Exchange explained that the action to close the Exchange was taken / because of the heavy flood of orders which came to the floor / moments after the announcement of the attempt on the President's / life. / When the Stock Exchange Governors halted trading the stock tape / was 20 minutes behind the trading on the floor. / Urgent / (Dallas)—-A Father Huber, of Holy Trinity Church in Dallas / administered the Last Sacrament of the Church to the President. / The Sacrament was administered shortly before 2 p.m. EST. / Another priest, who declined to give his name, said the Chief / Executive still was alive at the time. / Sheriff's officers took a young man into custody at the scene and / questioned him behind closed doors. / More Kennedy urgent X X X door. / Vice President Johnson's wife, after a quick check on conditions / in the emergency section, said her husband was unharmed. / The Vice President was somewhere in the hospital, but it was / impossible to determine his precise whereabouts at once. / He was reported badly shocked by the shooting. Doctors were / trying to keep him as quiet as possible. / He was under heavy Secret Service and police protection. / Throughout the Texas trip, when Kennedy and Johnson had been in the / same motorcade, as an obvious security measure they6 have ridden in / separate cars. / The Johnson car has always been some distance / from the Kennedy car, sometimes by as much as 60 yards. / Bureaus: / There will be no split. / Urgent / (Dallas)—-Malcolm Kilduff, an Assistant Press Secretary, said he / "cannot say" whether the President is alive "cannot say where he / was hit." He said "there are too many stories." / More Stock Exchange Urgent XXX Floor. / The Midwest Stock Exchange at Chicago, third largest in the / nation, and the Pacific Stock Exchange, likewise halted / halted [sic] operations. The Pacific Stock Exchange said it suspended / operations until further notice. / In New York City the Board of Governors of the New / York Stock Exchange now are in session / FLASH / President Dead / Bulletin / (Dallas)—-President Kennedy is dead. / More Kennedy Bulletin XXX is dead. / He was shot to death by an assassin in the streets of Dallas. / He was 45. / More Kennedy Bulletin XXX was 45. / He was fired at by a sniper, who also hit Texas Governor John / Connally. / The President had spoken at Fort Worth this morning. He / was to deliver a speech in Dallas this afternoon. / More Kennedy Bulletin XXX this afternoon. / Riding in the motorcade with him when he was shot were his / wife and Mrs. Connally, wife of the Texas Governor. Vice President Johnson . . . who will become President . . . was in / a car to the rear. / He was not hurt. But his wife said he was visibly shaken. / Immediately after the shooting, Secret Service agents / surrounded him. / More Kennedy Bulletin XXX surrounded him. / The President, cradled in his wife's arms, had been rushed / in his blood-spattered limousine to Parkland Hospital and taken / to an emergency room. An urgent call went out for neurosurgeons / and blood. / He died at the hospital. / Bulletin / (Sub Kennedy) / (Dallas)—-President Kennedy is dead. / He was killed by an assassin in Dallas. / John Fitzgerald Kennedy was 45 years old . . . in his first / term of office. / He was shot as he rode in a motorcade through downtown / Dallas. / Governor John Connally of Texas was wounded by the assassin. / The President and his wife had flown to Texas yesterday for / a two-day swing through five cities. / The [sic] flew to Dallas this morning from Fort Worth. / Some 25-thousand persons lined the streets as the / President rode by in the White House touring car. / Mrs. Kennedy held her husband's limp body in her arms when he / toppled over in the back seat of the open car. / He was rushed to the emergency room at Parkland Hospital. / Priests and doctors went to his side. He was given the Last / Rites of his Church . . . and a short time later died. / Police found a foreign-make rifle. Sheriff's officers are / questioning a young man picked up at the scene. / Vice President Johnson was in the same motorcade . . . / but was not hurt. / Witnesses said they heard three loud bursts of gunfire. / The shots appeared to have come from a grassy knoll near / the street the motorcade was moving along. / In the turmoil it was impossible to tell whether the Secret / Service agents and police returned the gunfire. / Bulletin. / (Dallas)—-President Kennedy was shot in the right temple. / "It was a simple matter of a bullet right through the / head," said Dr. George Burkley, White House Medical Officer. / More Kennedy Bulletin XX Officer / Kennedy was shot at 1 25 p-m EST. He died at / approximately 2 p-m EST. / Mrs. Kennedy was not shot. / White House sokesmen [sic] refused to comment on her condition. / Vice President Johnson was under heavy guard and was / whisked from the hospital by White House officials. / More Sub Kennedy XXX gunfire. / Mr. Kennedy, the father of two children, was elected to the / White House in November 1960—-the nation's first Roman Catholic / President. He narrowly defeated former Vice President Nixon. / He was up for reelection next November. / Vice President Lyndon Johnson will be sworn into office as / soon as possible. / He was rushed to the hospital and was wished [sic] away by Secret / Service agents. His whereabouts are being kept secret. / Correction: / Make the President's age 46. / (Soviet Reaction) / (Moscow)—-Moscow Radio's commentator, in mournful / tones, has announced the assassination of President John F. / Kennedy. He told Russians—-"It is said he has been murdered by / the extreme right wing elements." / U R G E N T / (Dallas)—-It is reported Vice President Johnson has begun / making plans to be sworn into office. / He will be the 36th President of the United States. / (B-B-I—-with Kennedy) / (Washington)—-F-B-I director J. Edgar Hoover immediately / made all of his agents and facilities available to Dallas / authorities to help apprehend those guilty of the assassination / attempt on President Kennedy. / Hoover telephoned city officials moments after he received / word of the attempt. / (Congress—with Kennedy) / (Washington)—-News of the assassin's attack on President / Kennedy hit Congress like a thunderbolt. The leadership reacted / with comments of "Oh, God," and "This is terrible." / Senate Democratic leader Mike Mansfield of Montana was called / to the Senate cloakroom telephone by United Press International / and informed of the news flash on the attack on the Chief Executive / and Texas Governor John Connally. / "This is terrible," Mansfield said after a hushed pause. / "I can't find words." / In UPR 103, more Sub Kennedy, read first sentence, / third paragraph XXX he was whisked away, etc (correcting / spelling). / Assassinations with shooting / (Washington)—-Three of America's last four presidents / have faced bullets of an assassin. Of the nation's 34 / presidents, three have been slain in office. / On November 1st, 1950, two Puerto Ricans tried to shoot their / way into Blair House, across from the White House, where / President Harry Truman was then staying. One gunman was killed, / the other is serving a life term. / On February 15th, 1933, anarchist Joseph Zangara shot at / President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt in Miami. The bullet / missed Roosevelt but fatally wounded Mayor Anton J. Cermak / of Chicago. / Today came the shots at President Kennedy. Of the last / four men elected to the White House, only Dwight D. Eisenhower / saw no attempt on his life. / The presidents killed by an assassin were Abraham Lincoln, / James A. Garfield and William McKinley. / (Csub Grain Market) / Chicago—News of the shooting of President Kennedy prompted / active selling of grain futures and prices took a dive today / on the Chicago Board of Trade. The death of the President / wasn't announced until after the close. / [ … ] More foreign reaction / (with Kennedy) / This is how the world reacted to the assassination this / afternoon of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas. / A commentator for Moscow radio told his listeners in / mournful tones—-"It is said he has been murdered by the / extreme right wing elements." / At the Vatican, Pope Paul the Sixth was reported to have / gone to his private chapel immediately on hearing of the tragedy. / German radio stations broadcast the event in cold, curt / sentences as details were received. / And an Armed Forces worker…broadcasting to American / troops throughout Europe…was unmistakenly [sic] sobbing as he / read the report. / The Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev was believed to have been in / South Russia—-near the Black Sea coast —-when Moscow got / the news of President Kennedy's death. / Sources assumed that Khrushchev was informed of the / assassination by way of an internal "Hot Line" circuit. / Princess Lee Radziwill, sister of Mrs. Kennedy informed of / the assassination at her London home. She announced she / will fly to the United States early tomorrow. / Swedish Prime Minister Tage Erlander commented only—- / "I don't want to say anything now." / At the Hague, a Foreign Office spokesman said the Netherlands / government "expresses deep felt horror about the terrible attack on President Kennedy. / "Deep and strong sympathy is felt in all Holland, both for the / American people and President Kennedy. / In Holland, radio bullets were heard in greatest shock. / The news was given at once to Queen Juliana. /[last two sentences repeated] / "My God," said a spokesman at the Foreign Office. "How could / such a thing have happened!" / Britain is deeply shocked at the death of President Kennedy. / These reactions from persons on the downtown streets of London—- / From a lawyer—-"I can't believe it…It's the worst thing / that could happen. He's a great friend of this country." / From a secretary—-"Oh, no, it can't be true. Who would / possibly want to do it?" / From a meat packer—-"Oh my God. I can't believe it." / (Domestic reaction)—with Kennedy) / (Washington)—News of the shooting hit Congress like a / thunderbolt. / "Oh God." This is terrible." Some of the shocked words. / Senator Edward Kennedy, the President's youngest brother, / was presiding over the Senate when he was told. / Attorney General Robert Kennedy had gone home to McLean, / Virginia, for lunch when the news came. / Senate Democratic leader Mike Mansfield said…"This is / terrible. I can't find words." / Speaker John McCormack was visibly affected. / Senate G-O-P leader Dirksen said "This is the most / disastrous thing that could hit this nation." / The President's mother and father were at Hyannis Port, / Massachusetts, when the word came. / Mrs. Kennedy is 72…Mr. Kennedy is 75. He suffered a / stroke in December 1960 and never fully recovered. / Secretary of State Rusk and other cabinet members / were aboard a plane bound for Japan. The plane turned back / between Honolulu and Tokyo. / (Kennedy obit) / John Fitzgerald Kennedy / On a bitterly cold and snowy day in January, 1961, when he was / inaugurated 35th President of the United States, John Fitzgerald / Kennedy sounded a call to action that in many ways summed up his own / remarkable career. / "Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe / alike," he said, "that the torch has been passed to a new generation / of Americans—-born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by / a cold and bitter peace." / Mr. Kennedy was all these, and he bore the torch of world leadership / in a society where the old order was changing fast. / On that January day, no man had ever flown in space. On that day / Negroes in Southern cities such Jackson and Birmingham were not / yet demonstrating. On that day the world had not come / consciously close to nuclear destruction as it did in the great Cuban / crisis of 1962. / "Sure it's a big job," Mr. Kennedy once said. "But I don't know / anybody who can do it any better than I can. I'm going to be in it / for four years. It isn't going to be so bad. You've got time to / think—-and besides, the pay is good." / He later found out—and conceded—that it was a bigger job / than he originally believed. But it is most unlikely that he ever / once wavered in the belief that no one could handle it as well as he / could. To think otherwise would have been a negation of his / whole life. / The presidency of John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born in the fierce / pride of an Irish immigrant family. It was carefully nurtured in the / training stages by a multi-millionaire father…and brought to / fruition by the man himself through a distinguished career in the / House and Senate and on the tricky campaign trails of America. / In a manner typical of his family, Kennedy started at the top in / many things. / (more) /."

Small tape repair to verso at head of roll and only several tiny closed tears to edges, without affecting text. A near-fine, rare and chilling record of the earliest accounts by witnesses and reporters of the Kennedy assassination.