Richard E. Sprague
Richard E. Sprague (August 27, 1921 – January 27, 1996) was an American computer technician, researcher and author who focused on the photographs of the Kennedy assassination. He was described as a leading gatherer of Kennedy assassination images by journalist Richard Russell.
Born in Philadelphia, Sprague graduated from Purdue University in 1942. He served as a lieutenant (JG) in the U.S. Navy during World War II, then worked as an engineer at Northrop Aircraft. By 1950 he helped start the Computer Research Corporation in Hawthorne, California. In 1960 he became Director of Computer Systems Consulting for Touche, Ross, Bailey and Smart (later Touche Ross), a post he held until 1989. He also appeared on the Groucho Marx radio show You Bet Your Life in 1952.
After Kennedy’s assassination in 1963, Sprague began his own investigation in 1966, studying the Zapruder film. He spent a year as a photographic expert in Jim Garrison’s New Orleans investigation (1966–1969) and was thanked in Garrison’s 1988 book for his support.
In 1968 he co-founded the Committee to Investigate Assassinations and started Sprague Research and Consulting. He later worked as a full-time consultant for Battelle Memorial Institute in Frankfurt, Germany.
Sprague published The Taking of America, 1-2-3 in three editions (1976–1985). He argued that the evidence showed multiple gunmen and many conspirators, and that as many as six shots hit Kennedy. He also suggested that Oswald did not act alone and that some evidence might have been planted or altered. Earlier writings on this topic appeared in Computers and Automation, People, and The Pursuit of Truth, and his Zapruder-film analyses influenced other researchers, including L. Fletcher Prouty.
It’s important to note that this Richard E. Sprague is a different person from Richard A. Sprague, who was the chief counsel for the House Select Committee on Assassinations.
Sprague died on January 27, 1996, in Virginia, at age 74. He is buried in Indianapolis.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 07:05 (CET).