November 22, 1963: Hunter Thompson Coins ‘Fear and Loathing’

‘No matter what, today is the end of an era,' wrote the gonzo journalist.

In the evening November 22, 1963, Hunter S. Thompson coined his immortal phrase “fear and loathing” in the aftermath of JFK’s assassination. In three words, the gonzo journalist had captured a mood that would never go away. In a letter to his friend novelist William Kennedy (“Ironweed”), Thompson wrote:

“There is no human being within 500 miles to whom I…