Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy

APPENDIX XVI

Appendix XVI provides a biography of Jack Ruby. The Commission has decided to include this detailed account despite pending Texas criminal proceedings because the biography will aid evaluation of the conspiracy question, will serve the public interest given numerous rumors about Ruby, and will help convey his character and background; however, the appendix does not address legal issues from Ruby’s trial or his possible motive for shooting Oswald.

A Biography of Jack Ruby

The biography of Jack Ruby (born Jacob Rubenstein) is presented by the Commission to allow better evaluation of evidence regarding whether Ruby was involved in any conspiracy, to serve the public interest amid many rumors about him, and to provide sufficient material to convey his character and background, while necessarily limiting its scope so as not to interfere with pending Texas proceedings relating to Ruby’s trial or possible motive for shooting Oswald.

FAMILY BACKGROUND

Jack Ruby, born Jacob Rubenstein, was the fifth of his parents’ eight living children, with conflicting records placing his 1911 birth on various dates; March 25, 1911, appears most frequently on his adult records and driver’s license. He had one older brother (Hyman) and three older sisters (Ann, Marion, and Eva), as well as two younger brothers (Sam and Earl) and a younger sister (Eileen), with at least one and possibly two other children dying in infancy. His father, Joseph Rubenstein, was born in 1871 in Sokolov near Warsaw (then Czarist Russia), entered the Russian artillery in 1893 where he learned carpentry and developed a drinking problem, married Fannie Turek Rutkowski in an arranged match, served in China, Korea, and Siberia before deserting around 1898, and emigrated via England and Canada to the United States in 1903. Joseph settled in Chicago, joined the carpenters union in 1904, worked fairly steadily until 1928, and was unemployed for the remaining 30 years of his life until his death in 1958; he also belonged to a purely social, nonpolitical group of fellow Sokolov immigrants.

chapter II. With the assistance of Agent in Charge Sorrels of the

This chapter traces Jack Ruby’s early life, beginning with his mother Fannie Rubenstein’s background and continuing through his childhood, psychiatric evaluation, foster care placement, education, activities, temperament, and young manhood on the West Coast.

Fannie Rubenstein

Jack Ruby’s mother, Fannie Rubenstein, was likely born in 1875 near Warsaw, Poland. She immigrated to the United States in 1904 or 1905 with her children Hyman and Ann, joining her husband. An illiterate woman, she attended night school around 1920 to learn to sign her name, but an alien registration form filed after roughly 35 years in the U.S. was signed with an “X.” Although she acquired some English, Yiddish remained her primary language. Despite her own limited education, Fannie strongly believed her children needed schooling to advance and frequently clashed with her husband, who felt grammar school was sufficient.

Childhood and Youth (1911-33)

Jack Ruby was born in 1911, with his family initially living near 14th and Newberry Streets in Chicago, the first in a succession of Jewish neighborhoods. By 1916, the Rubensteins resided at 1232 Morgan Street, where they remained until 1921—the fourth home in his first five years. The neighborhood was described as a “ghetto” with pushcarts on the streets, “below the middle class but not the poorest,” near Italian sections with frequent ethnic fights. The home was marked by constant strife, with parents occasionally striking each other. Joseph Rubenstein was repeatedly arrested between 1915 and 1921 for disorderly conduct and assault, some charges filed by his wife. The parents separated in spring 1921, largely due to Joseph’s drinking and Fannie’s temper—she resented her pregnancies, suspected infidelity, and nagged him about earnings.

Psychiatric Report

In June 1922, 11-year-old Jack was referred to the Institute for Juvenile Research for “truancy and incorrigible at home.” By July 1922, the institute recommended placement in a new environment, and in March 1923 advised placement in a home with “intelligent supervision and discipline.” The 1922 examination found Jack “quick tempered” and “disobedient,” frequently defying his mother. Jack said he ran away because she lied and beat him. Self-administered questionnaires revealed he felt classmates picked on him and he could not keep friends, though he claimed to be a good ballplayer with no club or team memberships. His interviewer noted he reacted quickly but carelessly, with wandering attention. A letter described him as egocentric, shaped by early sex experiences and street gangs, with a mother lacking insight. Dr. Raymond E. Robertson later confirmed that Jack’s unstable, disorganized home could not provide necessary controls.