James Joseph Humes was born in 1925.
He obtained a M.D. degree from Jefferson Medical College in 1948 and completed his residency in pathology at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in 1956.
In 1960 Humes became the chief of anatomic pathology at the Bethesda Naval Hospital. The following year he became the director of the laboratories at the National Medical Center. In that capacity, he conducted an autopsy of President John F. Kennedy.
When interviewed by the Warren Commission Humes insisted "that the bullet penetrated the rear of the President's head and exited through a large wound on the right side of his head." His testimony gave support to the report's infamous single-bullet theory.
