John F. Kennedy Biography

JFK biography image John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the 35th president of the United States serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963 at the age of 46. He came from a large and wealthy Irish Catholic family that already held a strong presence in politics. Attractive and charismatic, Kennedy was one of the most popular and youngest presidents in American history. The press chronicled his family life with the well-heeled Jacqueline Bouvier and their two children John Jr. and Caroline, often referring to them as Camelot and turning them into icons of style and popular culture. Kennedy expressed modern, liberal and sometimes idealistic views during his presidency, giving some of the most memorable and profound speeches. Even though his term in office was short, it was not without incident; he unsuccessfully invaded Cuba in an attempt to overthrow Castro, started the Peace Corps program to aide developing nations and spread American ideals, supported civil rights changes, proposed federal funded programs to benefit the elderly and financially disadvantaged and committed the U.S. to space exploration. His assassination and the events surrounding it shocked the nation and aroused suspicions about the American government, sparking many conspiracy theories over the years. John F. Kennedy is remembered as one of the most well-liked and influential people in U.S. politics and a popular representation of American wealth.

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HONORS and ACCOLADES

Awarded the Purple Heart, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal for duty and heroism during WWII.
House of Representatives (1947-1953)
U.S. Senate (1953-1960)
Awarded with a Pulitzer Prize in 1957 for his book "Profiles in Courage" (1956)
35th President of the United States (1961 - 1963)
NASA's Launch Operations Center in Florida was renamed the John F. Kennedy Space Center in November 1963.
New York's international airport, Idlewild, was renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport in 1963.
Posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963.
U.S. Mint issues the Kennedy half-dollar coin in1964.

TRIVIA

The youngest "elected" President of the United States.
The only Roman Catholic to be elected President of the United States.
One of the only two American Presidents buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
The first American President to hold a press conference on television.
The fourth American President to be assassinated.
He wore corrective shoes because his right leg was 3/4 of an inch longer than his left.

CAMELOT*

"Don't let it be forgot, that once there was a spot, for one brief shining moment that was known as Camelot."
-- quote from Camelot, the Broadway musical and one of JFK's favorite songs.

Jackie Kennedy
Former First lady of the United States and wife of John F. Kennedy until his death in1963. Together they had two children John F. Kennedy Jr. and Caroline Kennedy. She later married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis and was nicknamed "Jackie O". She died of cancer at the age of 64 in 1994.

Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg
Daughter of the late President John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. She is married to exhibit designer Edwin Schlossberg, and together they have three children.

John F. Kennedy Jr.
Son of the late President John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. He was nicknamed "John-John" in the press, and was most famous for a robust dating life, failing the New York bar exam twice and starting the monthly political magazine 'George'. He died in a plane crash with his wife Carolyn Bessette and her sister on their way to Martha's Vineyard in 1999.

Edward Kennedy
US senator, youngest son of Joseph Kennedy. A staunch liberal, he sponsored bills on immigration reform, public education, health care, AIDS research, and a variety of programmes to aid the poor.

Robert F. Kennedy
Brother of the late President John F. Kennedy and U.S. Attorney General from1961 to 1964. He also served as a New York Senator from (1965 - 1968) and is remembered for aiding his brother during the Cuban Missile Crisis and his commitment to the civil rights movement. He was assassinated in Los Angeles while campaigning for the presidency in 1968.

Ethel Kennedy
Wife of U.S. Senator Robert Kennedy. She joined forces with other members of the Kennedy clan to campaign for John, during his run for the U.S. presidency. Ethel focused much of her time and energy on various social causes. Despite a life riddled with scandal and tragedy, Ethel, now a grandmother to 23 children, remains to be the matriarch of the Kennedy family.

Rose Kennedy
Writer, activist, fundraiser, and the grande dame of contemporary American politics. As the matriarch of the Kennedy clan, she saw three of her sons- John, Robert, and Edward- gain election to public office and two of them die at the hands of assassins. In 1995, at the age of 104, she died of complications of pneumonia.

* In American culture, the term Camelot refers to the presidency of John F. Kennedy and represented the potential, the promise, and hope for the future of America.

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John F. Kennedy Timeline

1917
• Born, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, in Brookline, Massachusetts on May 29th to Joseph P. Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy.

1935
• Sails to England with plans to study at the London School of Economics in September.

• Returns to America after falling ill with jaundice, just three weeks later.

• Attends Princeton University in October, then drops out due to illness six weeks later.

• Enters Harvard the following year

1940
• Graduates cum laude from Harvard in June.

• Publishes his senior thesis, "Appeasement in Munich" in July, under the title "Why England Slept" about British foreign policy in the 1930s. It becomes a bestseller.

• Attends Stanford Graduate School for Business for a few months in the fall.

1941
• Volunteers for the U.S. Army in the spring, but is rejected because of back ailments.

• Accepted into the U.S. Navy in September.

1943
• Leads his naval crew to safety after an attack by a Japanese destroyer in the South Pacific during WWII. The ordeal exacerbates existing back problems, and leaves him with malaria, but earns him a Purple Heart. He is discharged early from military service in 1945.

1946
• Wins a congressional seat in Massachusetts' eleventh district on June 17th.

• Elected to the House of Representatives on November 5th.

1948
• Elected to a second term in the House of Representatives, then and a third term in 1950.

• Diagnosed with Addison's disease -an adrenal gland disorder.

1952
• Elected to the United States Senate for a six-year term, then re-elected in 1958.

1953
• Marries Jacqueline Lee Bouvier on September 12th. They welcome their first child, Caroline Bouvier on November 27th, 1957.

1960
• Nominated as the democratic candidate for president on July 13th.

• Defeats Richard Nixon in the presidential election on November 8th.

• Son, John F. Kennedy Jr. is born on November 25th 1960.

1961
• Sworn in as the 35th President of the United States on January 20th. He delivers an inaugural address that includes the infamous line, "...ask not what your country can do for you..."

• Signs Executive Order #1092, establishing the Peace Corps, on March 1st.

• Follows through with the previous President's plans to invade Cuba and overthrow Castro in April, then assumes full responsibility when the invasion fails.

• Sends 600 Federal Marshals to Alabama to protect the Civil Rights "Freedom Riders".

• Signs a bill that provides retirement benefits for those age of 62 and over.

1962
• Issues Executive Order #11063 banning racial discrimination in housing.

1963
• Calls in the National Guard to ensure the safety of two black students entering the University of Alabama on June 11th.

• Proposes civil rights legislation to congress, addressing racial discrimination and segregation in June.

• Signs a treaty banning nuclear weapon testing on October 7th.

• Assassinated during a presidential motorcade visit through downtown Dallas, Texas on November 22nd. Lee Harvey Oswald is arrested and accused of the assassination, but is murdered before a trial.

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