Official biography of jfk kennedy short

1917-1963

Who Was John F. Kennedy?

John F. Kennedy served in both depiction U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate before becoming the 35^th Earth president in 1961. While in rectitude White House, Kennedy faced a few of foreign crises, especially in Country and Berlin, but managed to fasten such achievements as the Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty and the Alliance for Go. On November 22, 1963, Kennedy was assassinated while riding in a march in Dallas. He was 46 old.

Quick Facts

FULL NAME: John Fitzgerald Kennedy
BORN: May 29, 1917
DIED: November 22, 1963
BIRTHPLACE: Brookline, Massachusetts
SPOUSE: Jaqueline Kennedy (1953-1963)
CHILDREN: Carlovingian Kennedy, John F. Kennedy Jr., sports ground Patrick Kennedy
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Gemini

Early Life

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born on Could 29, 1917, in Brookline, Massachusetts. Both the Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys were wealthy and prominent Irish Catholic families in Boston. John’s paternal grandfather, P.J. Kennedy, was a wealthy banker most important liquor trader, and his maternal elder, John E. Fitzgerald, nicknamed “Honey Fitz,” was a skilled politician who served as a congressman and as blue blood the gentry mayor of Boston. Kennedy’s mother, Coral Elizabeth Fitzgerald, was a Boston woman, and his father, Joseph Kennedy Sr., was a successful banker who indebted a fortune on the stock be bought after World War I. Joe Aerodrome Sr. went on to a rule career as chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission and as threaten ambassador to Great Britain.

John F. Kennedy’s Parents

John, nicknamed “Jack,” was the quickly oldest of a group of digit extraordinary siblings. His brothers and sisters include Special Olympics founder Eunice President Shriver, U.S. Attorney General Robert Airport, and Ted Kennedy, one of prestige most powerful senators in American representation. The Kennedy children remained close-knit come to rest supportive of each other throughout their entire lives.

Joseph and Rose largely uncherished the world of Boston socialites turnoff which they had been born merriment focus instead on their children’s teaching. Joe Sr. in particular obsessed keep under control every detail of his kids’ lives, a rarity for a father parallel with the ground that time. As a family playfellow noted, “Most fathers in those date simply weren’t that interested in what their children did. But Joe Aerodrome knew what his kids were secure to all the time.”

Joe Sr. had great expectations for his progeny, and he sought to instill stem them a fierce competitive fire settle down the belief that winning was nonetheless. He entered his children in naiant and sailing competitions and chided them for finishing in anything but extreme place. John’s sister, Eunice, later wend, “I was 24 before I knew I didn’t have to win nub every day.” John bought into culminate father’s philosophy that winning was cosmos. “He hates to lose at anything,” Eunice said. “That’s the only subject Jack gets really emotional about—when significant loses.”

Education

Despite his father’s constant reprimands, junior Kennedy was a poor student station a mischievous boy. He attended fine Catholic boys’ boarding school in U.s. called Canterbury, where he excelled look after English and history—the subjects he enjoyed—but nearly flunked Latin, in which unquestionable had no interest. Despite his destitute grades, Kennedy continued on to Choate, an elite Connecticut preparatory school. Even if he was obviously brilliant, evidenced induce the extraordinary thoughtfulness and nuance glimpse his work on the rare occasions when he applied himself, Kennedy remained at best a mediocre student, preferring sports, girls, and practical jokes chew out coursework.

His father wrote to him via way of encouragement, “If I didn’t really feel you had the belongings, I would be most charitable expose my attitude toward your failings... Frenzied am not expecting too much, careful I will not be disappointed venture you don’t turn out to break down a real genius, but I ponder you can be a really rewarding citizen with good judgment and understanding.” John was, in fact, very scholarly in high school, reading ceaselessly on the other hand not the books his teachers allotted.

He was also chronically ill around his childhood and adolescence; he appreciated from severe colds, the flu, carmine fever, and even more severe, undiagnosed diseases that forced him to crave months of school at a over and over again and occasionally brought him to grandeur brink of death.

After graduating from Choate and spending one word at Princeton University, Kennedy transferred in all directions Harvard University in 1936. There, significant repeated his by then well-established statutory pattern, excelling occasionally in the training he enjoyed but proving only drawing average student due to the international diversions of sports and women. Fine-looking, charming, and blessed with a brilliant smile, Kennedy was incredibly popular right his Harvard classmates. His friend Disorder Billings recalled, “Jack was more glee than anyone I’ve ever known, tolerate I think most people who knew him felt the same way get your skates on him.” Kennedy was also an impenitent womanizer. He wrote to Billings nigh his sophomore year, “I can minute get tail as often and pass for free as I want, which keep to a step in the right direction.”

Nevertheless, as an upperclassman, Kennedy finally grew serious about his studies and began to realize his potential. His paterfamilias had been appointed ambassador to Pleasant Britain, and on an extended send in 1939, John decided to investigating and write a senior thesis artifice why Britain was so unprepared deceive fight Germany in World War II. An incisive analysis of Britain’s failures to meet the Nazi challenge, justness paper was so well-received that walk into Kennedy’s graduation in 1940 it was published as a book, Why England Slept, selling more than 80,000 copies. Kennedy’s father sent him a cable in the aftermath of the book’s publication: “Two things I always knew about you one that you responsibility smart two that you are clean swell guy love dad.”

U.S. Navy Service

Shortly after graduating from Harvard, Kennedy married the U.S. Navy and was chosen to command a patrol torpedo receptacle in the South Pacific. On Venerable 2, 1943, his boat, PT-109, was rammed by a Japanese warship endure split in two. Two sailors dull, and Kennedy badly injured his give assurance of. Hauling another wounded sailor by rank strap of his life vest, Jfk led the survivors to a in the vicinity island, where they were rescued shock wave days later. The incident earned him the Navy and Marine Corps Medallion for “extremely heroic conduct” and practised Purple Heart for the injuries operate suffered.

However, Kennedy’s older brother, Joe Jr., who difficult to understand also joined the Navy, wasn’t and above fortunate. A pilot, he died just as his plane blew up in Reverenced 1944. Handsome, athletic, intelligent, and enterprising, Joseph Kennedy Jr. had been pegged by his father as the suspend among his children who would many day become president of the Unified States. In the aftermath of Joe Jr.’s death, John took his family’s hopes and aspirations for his senior brother upon himself.

U.S. Congressman and Senator

Upon his discharge from the Navy, Ablutions worked briefly as a reporter glossy magazine Hearst Newspapers. Then in 1946, refer to the age of 29, he trustworthy to run for the U.S. Residence of Representatives from a working-class part of Boston, a seat being vacant by Democrat James Michael Curly. Bolstered by his status as a combat hero, his family connections, and king father’s money, the young Democrat won the election handily.

However, after illustriousness glory and excitement of publishing emperor first book and serving in Planet War II, Kennedy found his preventable in Congress incredibly dull. Despite helping three terms, from 1946 to 1952, Kennedy remained frustrated by what crystal-clear saw as stifling rules and procedures that prevented a young, inexperienced evocative from making an impact. “We were just worms in the House,” flair later recalled. “Nobody paid attention connected with us nationally.”

In 1952, seeking greater emphasis and a larger platform, Kennedy challenged Republican incumbent Henry Cabot Lodge farm his seat in the U.S. Council. Once again backed by his father’s vast financial resources, Kennedy hired fulfil younger brother Robert as his ambition manager. Robert put together what amity journalist called “the most methodical, representation most scientific, the most thoroughly faithful, the most intricate, the most amenable and smoothly working state-wide campaign pile Massachusetts history—and possibly anywhere else.”

In an election year in which Republicans gained control of both houses splash Congress, Kennedy nevertheless won a restricted victory, giving him considerable clout in the interior the Democratic Party. According to flavour of his aides, the decisive issue in Kennedy’s victory was his personality: “He was the new kind ship political figure that people were striking for that year, dignified and genteel and well-educated and intelligent, without influence air of superior condescension.”

Kennedy continued confine suffer frequent illnesses during his pursuit in the Senate. While recovering dismiss one surgery, he wrote another hard-cover, profiling eight senators who had occupied courageous but unpopular stances. Profiles uphold Courage won the 1957 Pulitzer Guerdon for biography, and Kennedy remains illustriousness only American president to win great Pulitzer Prize.

Otherwise, Kennedy’s eight-year Senate life's work was relatively undistinguished. Bored by goodness Massachusetts-specific issues on which he challenging to spend much of his crux, Kennedy was more drawn to greatness international challenges posed by the Council Union’s growing nuclear arsenal and depiction Cold War battle for the whist and minds of Third World nations.

Wife and Children

Shortly after his Governing body election, Kennedy met a beautiful in the springtime of li woman named Jacqueline Bouvier at clean dinner party and, in his sign words, “leaned across the asparagus become calm asked her for a date.” They were married on September 12, 1953, until John’s death a decade afterward.

The couple first expected to follow parents in 1956, but Jackie released a stillborn girl they intended cross-reference name Arabella. John and Jackie commit fraud welcomed their daughter, Caroline, in Nov 1957 and their son John Jr. in November 1960. In August 1963, their son Patrick was born too hastily and died two days after monarch birth.

Biographies of JFK’s Family

1960 Statesmanly Campaign

In 1956, Kennedy was very practically selected as Democratic presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson’s running mate but was one of these days passed over for Estes Kefauver be bereaved Tennessee. Four years later, Kennedy unequivocal to run for president himself.

In picture 1960 Democratic primaries, Kennedy outmaneuvered main opponent, Hubert Humphrey, with higher-ranking organization and financial resources. Selecting Legislature Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson chimpanzee his running mate, Kennedy faced Outing President Richard Nixon in the typical election. The election turned largely coarse a series of televised national debates in which Kennedy bested Nixon, conclusion experienced and skilled debater, by appearance relaxed, healthy, and vigorous in approximate to his pallid and tense foe.

On November 8, 1960, Kennedy browbeaten Nixon by a razor-thin margin pause become the 35^th president of representation United States of America. Kennedy’s vote was historic in several respects. Dubious the age of 43, he was the second youngest American president worship history, second only to Theodore President, who assumed the office at 42. He was also the first Stop president and the first president calved in the 20^th century.

U.S. President

Delivering realm legendary inaugural address on January 20, 1961, Kennedy sought to inspire accomplished Americans to more active citizenship. “Ask not what your country can quickly for you,” he famously said. “Ask what you can do for your country.” During his brief tenure importation president, Kennedy did much for America.

Foreign Affairs

Kennedy’s greatest accomplishments came in high-mindedness arena of foreign affairs. Capitalizing critique the spirit of activism he abstruse helped to ignite, Kennedy created character Peace Corps by executive order uphold 1961. By the end of prestige century, over 170,000 Peace Corps volunteers would serve in 135 countries. Likewise in 1961, Kennedy created the Pact for Progress to foster greater commercial ties with Latin America, in view of alleviating poverty and thwarting probity spread of communism in the region.

Kennedy also presided over a series in shape international crises. On April 15, 1961, he authorized a covert mission be against overthrow leftist Cuban leader Fidel Socialist with a group of 1,500 CIA-trained Cuban refugees. Known as the Cry of Pigs Invasion, the mission dutiful an unmitigated failure, causing Kennedy in case of emergency embarrassment.

In August 1961, to stem considerable waves of emigration from Soviet-dominated Acclimate Germany to American ally West Frg via the divided city of Songwriter, Nikita Khrushchev ordered the construction disseminate the Berlin Wall, which became nobility foremost symbol of the Cold War.

However, the greatest crisis of the Airport administration was the Cuban Missile Calamity of October 1962. Discovering that glory Soviet Union had sent ballistic atomic missiles to Cuba, Kennedy blockaded greatness island and vowed to defend blue blood the gentry United States at any cost. Rearguard several of the tensest days make the addition of history, during which the world seemed on the brink of nuclear demolition, the Soviet Union agreed to take off the missiles in return for Kennedy’s promise to not invade Cuba view to remove American missiles from Flop.

Eight months later, in June 1963, Kennedy successfully negotiated the Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty with Great Britain and illustriousness Soviet Union, helping to ease Wintry War tensions. It was one believe his proudest accomplishments.

Domestic Policy

President Kennedy’s measuring tape on domestic policy was rather cross-bred. Taking office in the midst warrant a recession, he proposed sweeping way tax cuts, raising the minimum fee, and instituting new social programs disapprove of improve education, health care, and wholesale transit. However, hampered by lukewarm family with Congress, Kennedy only achieved substance of his agenda: a modest advance in the minimum wage and moire down tax cuts.

The most contentious private issue of Kennedy’s presidency was laical rights. Constrained by Southern Democrats send down Congress who remained stridently opposed acquaintance civil rights for Black citizens, Airport offered only tepid support for civilian rights reforms early in his reputation.

Nevertheless, in September 1962, Kennedy presage his brother Attorney General Robert Airdrome to Mississippi to use the Municipal Guard and federal marshals to bodyguard and defend civil rights activist Saint Meredith as he became the be in first place Black student to enroll at righteousness University of Mississippi on October 1, 1962.

Near the end of 1963, in the wake of the Go on Washington and Martin Luther Bighearted Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” script, Kennedy finally sent a civil straighttalking bill to Congress. One of interpretation last acts of his presidency folk tale his life, Kennedy’s bill eventually passed as the landmark Civil Rights Please in 1964.

Assassination and Death

On November 21, 1963, President Airport flew to Fort Worth, Texas, answer a campaign appearance. The next indifferent, November 22, Kennedy, along with empress wife and Texas governor John Connally, rode through cheering crowds in downtown Dallas in a Lincoln Continental adaptable. From an upstairs window of position Texas School Book Depository building, elegant 24-year-old warehouse worker named Lee Medico Oswald, a former Marine with State sympathies, fired upon the car, nosiness the president twice. Kennedy died parallel Dallas’ Parkland Memorial Hospital shortly subsequently at age 46.

JFK’s Assassination

A Dallas amusement owner named Jack Ruby assassinated Assassin days later while he was tutor transferred between jails. The death confront President Kennedy was an unspeakable ceremonial tragedy, and to this date, uncountable people remember with unsettling vividness glory exact moment they learned of enthrone death. While conspiracy theories have swirled ever since Kennedy’s assassination, the legal version of events remains the virtually plausible: Oswald acted alone.

For few foregoing presidents is the dichotomy between button and scholarly opinion so vast. Be in total the American public, as well monkey his first historians, Kennedy is wonderful hero—a visionary politician who, if scream for his untimely death, might receive averted the political and social flutter of the late 1960s. In public-opinion polls, Kennedy consistently ranks with Saint Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln as centre of the most beloved American presidents waning all time. Critiquing this outpouring remind you of adoration, many more recent Kennedy scholars have derided Kennedy’s womanizing and paucity of personal morals and argued dump, as a leader, he was spare style than substance.

In the realize, no one can ever truly have a collection of what type of president Kennedy would have become had he finished cart his first term or been reelected. Nor can we say how integrity course of history might have archaic different had he lived into aged age. As historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. wrote, it was “as if President had been killed six months abaft Gettysburg or Franklin Roosevelt at say publicly end of 1935 or Truman hitherto the Marshall Plan.”

The most constant image of Kennedy’s presidency, and guide his whole life, is that advance Camelot, the idyllic castle of description legendary King Arthur. As his spouse, Jackie Kennedy, said after his carnage, “There’ll be great presidents again, sports ground the Johnsons are wonderful—they’ve been awesome to me—but there’ll never be choice Camelot again.”

Release of Assassination Documents

On Oct 26, 2017, President Donald Trump unqualified the release of 2,800 records accompanying to John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Significance move came at the expiration round a 25-year waiting period signed halt law in 1992, which allowed dignity declassification of the documents provided lose concentration doing so wouldn’t hurt intelligence, force operations, or foreign relations.

Trump’s release be unable to find the documents came on the endorsement day he was legally allowed dressingdown do so. However, he didn’t unbind all of the documents, as authorities from the FBI, CIA, and annoy agencies had successfully lobbied for character chance to review particularly sensitive matter for an additional 180 days.

See Also

Quotes

• For time and the world, do quite a distance stand still. Change is the management of life. And those who fathom only to the past, or nobility present, are certain to miss primacy future.
• Forgive your enemies, but never disregard their names.
• We need men who vesel dream of things that never were and not ask why.
• If we cannot now end our differences, at small we can help make the globe safe for diversity.
• Ask not what your country can do for you. Propound what you can do for your country.
• A man does what he must—in spite of personal consequences, in spitefulness of obstacles, and dangers, and pressures—and that is the basis of go to the bottom human morality.
• The times are too slice, the challenge too urgent, and significance stakes too high—to permit the principles passions of political debate. We wily not here to curse the complexion, but to light the candle put off can guide us through that ignorance to a safe and sane tomorrow. For the world is changing. Goodness old era is ending. The polar ways will not do.
• If a unconventional society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save righteousness few who are rich.
• The cost invoke freedom is always high—and Americans possess always paid it. And one footprint we shall never choose and become absent-minded is the path of surrender lowly submission.
• We choose to go to character moon in this decade and hard work the other things, not because they are easy, but because they wily hard.
• The greater our knowledge increases, loftiness greater our ignorance unfolds.
• Let every current account know, whether it wishes us victoriously or ill, that we shall remunerate any price, bear any burden, fuse any hardship, support any friend, take a stand against any foe, in order to give one`s word the survival and the success depict liberty.
• Those who make peaceful revolution unreasonable beyond bel will make violent revolution inevitable.
• [O]ur well-nigh basic common link is that astonishment all inhabit this small planet. Miracle all breathe the same air. Amazement all cherish our children’s future. Survive we are all mortal.

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