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Joseph Patrick Kennedy biography

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  • PLACE OF BIRTH: Boston, Massachusetts
  • PLACE OF DEATH: Hyannis Port, Massachusetts
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U.S. businessman and financier John Patrick Kennedy was President John F. Kennedy, Jr.'s father. He was a bank president, shipbuilder and movie tycoon.

Synopsis

John Patrick Kennedy was born September 6, 1888 in Boston, Massachussets. He was a bank president by age 25 and a millionaire at age 30. He became a shipbuilder, a motion-picture tycoon, and a large contributor to the Democratic Party. During the 1920s he acquired a large fortune by speculating in the stock market. He was the first Irish American to serve as ambassador to Britain (1937–1940).

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(born Sept. 6, 1888, Boston, Mass., U.S.—died Nov. 18, 1969, Hyannis Port, Mass.) U.S. businessman and financier. He graduated from Harvard University in 1912. He was a bank president by age 25 and a millionaire at age 30. He became a shipbuilder, a motion-picture tycoon, and a large contributor to the Democratic Party. During the 1920s he acquired a large fortune by speculating in the stock market; he is also alleged to have traded in bootleg liquor during Prohibition. Later, as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (1934–35), he outlawed the speculative practices, including insider trading and stock manipulation, that had made him rich. He was the first Irish American to serve as ambassador to Britain (1937–40). With his wife, Rose, he encouraged academic and athletic competitiveness in his children and expected the boys in the family—including John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Edward Kennedy—to pursue careers in public service. His role in John Kennedy's narrow victory over Richard Nixon in the 1960 presidential election has long been the subject of controversy.

Copyright © 1994-2011 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. For more information visit Britannica.com

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