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

Appendix XIII: Lee Harvey Oswald Biography

Appendix XIII presents a comprehensive biography of Lee Harvey Oswald, drawing on witness testimony, family records, and contemporary accounts to trace his life from his mother’s early years through his upbringing, family circumstances, and formative experiences in New Orleans.

Oswald’s Early Years and Family Background

Marguerite Claverie, Lee Harvey Oswald’s mother, was born in 1907 in New Orleans into a family of French and German extraction. After her mother died when Marguerite was young, she and her siblings were raised by their father, a streetcar conductor. Though the family was poor, Marguerite recalled a happy childhood. She completed one year of high school and, shortly before turning 17, began working as a receptionist for a New Orleans law firm.

Marguerite Oswald’s Marriages and Early Children

In August 1929, Marguerite married Edward John Pic, Jr., a stevedoring company clerk. The marriage failed, and by summer 1931 they were separated; Marguerite was pregnant and said Pic refused to support her. Their son John Edward Pic was born on January 17, 1932. Marguerite then began seeing Robert Edward Lee Oswald, a married insurance premium collector. After both obtained divorces in 1933, they married on July 20 in a Lutheran church. Their son Robert, Jr., was born on April 7, 1934. In 1938, the Oswalds purchased a house on Alvar Street across from the William Frantz School. Robert Oswald died suddenly of a heart attack on August 19, 1939, and Lee Harvey Oswald was born on October 18, 1939.