Richard Paul Pavlick
Richard Paul Pavlick | |
---|---|
Born | |
Died | November 11, 1975 | (aged 88)
Occupation | Postal worker |
Known for | Unsuccessful plan to assassinate president-elect John F. Kennedy in December 1960 |
Criminal charge | Ruled mentally ill, ultimately released in December 1966 |
Richard Paul Pavlick (February 13, 1887 – November 11, 1975) was a retired
Personal background
Pavlick was born on February 13, 1887, in
Assassination plan
After Kennedy defeated Vice President Richard Nixon in the 1960 presidential election, 73-year-old Pavlick decided to kill Kennedy. He turned his property over to a local youth camp, loaded his meager possessions into his 1950 Buick, and disappeared.[1][3] Soon after, Belmont's postmaster began receiving bizarre postcards from Pavlick[3] stating that the town would soon hear from him "in a big way";[1] noticing that the postmarked dates and locations matched Kennedy's movements, the postmaster contacted the Secret Service;[1] the Secret Service interviewed locals and learned of Pavlick's previous outbursts and that he had recently purchased dynamite.[1] During his travels, Pavlick had visited the Kennedy compound at Hyannis Port, Massachusetts,[3] and photographed the Kennedy home while also checking out the compound's security.
Shortly before 10 a.m. on Sunday, December 11, as Kennedy was preparing to leave for Mass at St. Edward Church in Palm Beach,[1] Pavlick waited in his dynamite-laden car hoping to detonate his 1950 Buick to cause a fatal explosion. However, Pavlick changed his mind after seeing Kennedy with his wife, Jacqueline, and the couple's two small children.[1][5] Pavlick said, "I did not want to harm her or the children."[1] While waiting for another opportunity over the next few days, Pavlick visited the church to learn its interior, but the Secret Service had informed local Palm Beach police to look out for Pavlick's automobile.[1]
Four days later, on December 15, Palm Beach police officer Lester Free spotted Pavlick's vehicle crossing the Royal Poinciana Bridge.[3][1] After his arrest, Pavlick said, "Kennedy money bought the White House and the Presidency. I had the crazy idea I wanted to stop Kennedy from being President."[6]
On January 27, 1961, Pavlick was committed to the federal medical center in Springfield, Missouri, then was indicted for threatening Kennedy's life seven weeks later.[1] According to Ted Sorensen, Kennedy "was merely bemused" when he found out about Pavlick.[3]
Later life
Charges against Pavlick were dropped on December 2, 1963, ten days after
Pavlick died at age 88 on November 11, 1975, at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Manchester, New Hampshire.[1][3][7]
In popular culture
Pavlick was portrayed by
References
- ^ ISBN 9780313364754.
- ^ ISBN 9781581129847.
- ^ ISBN 9781608192472.
- ^ Duckler, Ray (27 September 2013). "Ray Duckler: Years ago, the Belmont postmaster delivered". Concord Monitor.
- ^ ISBN 9781134713257.
- CNN.com.
- ^ "Richard Pavlick, 88, accused of JFK threat". The Boston Globe. UPI. November 12, 1975. p. 27. Retrieved July 10, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
External links
- "The Kennedy Assassin Who Failed", by Dan Lewis, Smithsonian.com, December 6, 2012.