Dr. Anthony Merlino JFK Assassination Conspiracy Theory Collection (SC041)

Biographical / Historical

This collection was bequeathed by Dr. Anthony Merlino, a 1951 graduate of Providence College. Dr. Merlino was an orthopedic surgeon who served as consultant and team physician to PC athletic teams for 20 years. Following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963 and for several subsequent decades, Merlino collected a large personal library of materials written about Kennedy, his assassination, his family, and related topics. He also collected a wide range of publications concerning conspiracy theories about the assassination, as well as engaging in amateur original research on the assassination. While most of the materials in this collection are not unique, as a whole it represents how prevalent and complex these conspiracies theories were. Researchers will also note how long-lasting JFK conspiracy theories were, with publications spanning across four decades.

President John F. Kennedy was one of the most prominent politicians to emerge from New England, and his 1963 assassination made him loom even larger in the consciousness of America. On November 22, 1963, Kennedy was visiting Dallas, Texas on a campaign trip. He sat in a car waving to onlookers with Texas Governor John Connally and his wife, as well as his own wife Jacqueline Kennedy, when he was shot by an unknown assailant. The President was soon pronounced dead at a local hospital and Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as president shortly after. It was later determined that Lee Harvey Oswald was the person responsible for killing Kennedy. Oswald was arrested the day of the assassination on a separate charge but was killed two days later by local organized crime figure Jack Ruby while being transported in police custody.

After Kennedy's assassination, many stories arose that conflicted with the government's official account of the event. Ideas that the assassination was the result of a conspiracy spread rapidly throughout American society. On November 29, 1963, President Johnson created the President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, also known as the Warren Commission, which was tasked with investigating the assassination. After interviewing hundreds of witnesses and reviewing reports from various federal agencies, it was determined that the shots that killed President Kennedy were fired by Oswald from the nearby Texas School Book Depository and there was no connection to any larger conspiracy. When conspiracy theories persisted, the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations was formed in 1979 and confirmed the Warren Commission's findings about Oswald, but also concluded that there was a high probability that there were two shooters. Conspiracy theories about Kennedy's assassination still persist in American culture to the present day.

The materials in this collection contain writings, commentary, and evidence about the many theories which emerged surrounding Kennedy's assassination. Theories discussed in these materials include the grassy knoll theory, the umbrella man theory, the CIA theory, the three tramps theory, the communist theory, the single bullet theory, and more. Researchers will note that the theories change, develop, and fall out of favor as evidence is found over the years. For more information about specific conspiracies, "JFK Conspiracy Theories at 50" by David Reitzes gives a full outline of prevalent theories.

Reitzes, D. (2013). JFK conspiracy theories at 50: how the skeptics got it wrong and why it matters. Skeptic Magazine, 18(3), 36.