John F. Kennedy

Profession: 35th US President

Nationality:

Political Party: Democratic
Political Titles: Senator from Massachusetts

Presidential Term: January 20, 1961 - November 22, 1963
Preceded By: Dwight D. Eisenhower
Succeeded By: Lyndon B. Johnson

Biography: The youngest-ever person elected President at age 43, Kennedy assumed office at the height of the Cold War. As such his time in office was spent managing relations with the communist states.

In 1961 Kennedy approved the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in an attempt to overthrow the communist-aligned regime of Fidel Castro. A year later the discovery of Soviet nuclear weapons in Cuba caused the Cuban Missile Crisis, which was eventually resolved peacefully.

In other affairs Kennedy sent advisers to Vietnam and launched America into the Space Race with his famous "we choose to go to the Moon" speech in 1963. While he supported the Civil Rights Movement he was not successful in getting many of his New Frontier policies passed by Congress.

On November 22, 1963, he was assassinated in Dallas, Texas by Lee Harvey Oswald, and was succeeded by Lyndon B. Johnson.

Born: May 29, 1917
Birthplace: Brookline, Massachusetts, USA

Generation: Greatest Generation
Chinese Zodiac: Snake
Star Sign: Gemini

Died: November 22, 1963 (aged 46)
Cause of Death: Assassination

Articles and Photos

Married Life

1953-09-12 American Senator John F. Kennedy (36) weds Jacqueline Bouvier (24) in Newport, Rhode Island

Historical Events

1943-08-02 Lt John F. Kennedy's PT-boat 109 sinks at Solomon islands
1946-11-05 John F. Kennedy (Democrat, Massachusetts) elected to US House of Representatives
1954-02-14 Senator John F. Kennedy appears on "Meet the Press"
1957-05-06 Pulitzer Prize for Biography awarded to John F. Kennedy for "Profiles in Courage"
1960-01-02 Senator John F. Kennedy, announces his candidacy for the US Presidency
1960-02-29 JFK makes "missile gap" the presidential campaign issue
1960-05-10 John F. Kennedy wins presidential primary in West Virginia
1960-07-13 US Democratic convention nominates JFK as presidential candidate
1960-09-12 John F. Kennedy states he does not speak for the Roman Catholic Church, and neither does the Church speak for him.
1960-10-07 JFK and Richard Nixon's second presidential debate
1960-10-12 JFK and Richard Nixon's third presidential debate
1960-10-14 Peace Corps 1st suggested by John F. Kennedy in a speech at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor
1960-10-21 JFK & Nixon clashed in 4th & final presidential debate (NYC)
1960-11-08 John F. Kennedy is elected President of the United States, defeating Republican candidate Richard Nixon who was the incumbent Vice President
1961-01-20 Democrat John F. Kennedy, the youngest elected President of the United States, is administered his oath of office at his inauguration by Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren. Robert Frost recites "Gift Outright".
1961-01-25 First live, nationally televised presidential news conference, held by JFK
1961-01-26 1st woman personal physician to a US President - Janet G. Travell (to John F. Kennedy)
1961-01-30 JFK asks for an Alliance for Progress & Peace Corps, a $20 billion US Aid program for Latin America
1961-02-28 US President John F Kennedy names Henry Kissinger special advisor
1961-03-01 US President JFK establishes the Peace Corps
1961-03-13 JFK sets up the Alliance for Progress
1961-04-10 Dutch foreign minister Luns talks to JFK about New Guinea
1961-04-10 Washington Senators play first game in franchise history with President John F. Kennedy in attendance; lose a 4-3 decision to the Chicago White Sox
1961-04-24 JFK accepts "sole responsibility" following Bay of Pigs
1961-05-25 JFK announces US goal of putting a man on the Moon before the end of decade
1961-05-31 US President John F. Kennedy visits Charles de Gaulle in Paris
1961-06-03 American President JFK & Soviet Premier Khrushchev meet in Vienna
1961-06-04 US President John F. Kennedy and Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev meet at the Vienna Summit in Austria
1961-07-25 In a speech, US President John F. Kennedy emphasizes that any attack on Berlin is an attack on NATO
1961-09-05 America begins underground nuclear testing
1961-09-05 US President JFK signs law against hijacking (death penalty)
1961-10-06 JFK advises Americans to build fallout shelters
1961-11-16 US President JFK decides to increase military aid to South Vietnam without committing US combat troops
1961-11-18 JFK sends 18,000 military advisors to South Vietnam
1961-12-11 JFK provides US military helicopters & crews to South Vietnam
1961-12-15 US President John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy visit Puerto Rico - last official sitting presidential visit until Barack Obama in 2011
1961-12-21 US President John F. Kennedy and British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan meet in Bermuda
1962-01-21 US President John F. Kennedy arrives in Uruguay
1962-02-03 US President John F. Kennedy bans all trade with Cuba except for food & drugs
1962-02-07 US President JFK begins blockade of Cuba by banning all Cuban imports and exports.
1962-03-02 President John F. Kennedy announces US will resume above ground nuclear testing
1962-03-23 JFK visits San Francisco
1962-04-09 US President JohnF. Kennedy throws out 1st ball at Washington's new DC Stadium
1962-05-01 JFK authorizes Area Redevelopment Act (ARA)
1962-05-19 Marilyn Monroe sings "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" to JFK before 15,000 attendees, accompanied by jazz pianist Hank Jones, at Madison Square Garden, NYC
1962-06-11 US President John F. Kennedy accepts an honorary degree from Yale
1962-09-29 JFK authorizes use of federal troops to integrate University of Mississippi
1962-09-30 JFK sends 3,000 federal troops to University of Mississippi to quell riots protesting desegregation
1962-10-16 Cuban Missile Crisis begins as JFK is shown photos confirming the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba
1962-10-18 US President John F. Kennedy meets Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrei Gromyko
1962-10-22 Cuban Missile Crisis: US President John F. Kennedy addresses TV about Russian missile bases in Cuba and imposes a naval blockade on Cuba, beginning the missile crisis
1962-10-22 JFK receives Ugandan premier Milton Obote
1962-10-26 Nikita Khrushchev sends note to JFK offering to withdraw his missiles from Cuba if US closes its bases in Turkey. Offer is rejected and JFK warns Russia that the USA will not allow Soviet missiles to remain in Cuba.
1962-10-28 Cuban Missile Crisis: US President JFK receives letter from Soviet Leaderr Khrushchev suggesting agreement
1962-11-17 US President JFK dedicates Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C.
1963-02-19 USSR informs JFK it is withdrawing several thousand troops from Cuba
1963-05-08 U.S. President John F. Kennedy offers Israel assistance against aggression from its neighbors
1963-05-24 Barbra Streisand performs "Happy Days Are Here Again" at White House Press Correspondents Dinner, and meets US President John F. Kennedy
1963-06-10 US Equal Pay Act signed into law by President John F. Kennedy
1963-06-11 US President JFK says segregation is morally wrong and that it is "time to act"
1963-06-23 US President John F. Kennedy tours Western Europe
1963-06-25 JFK speaks at Pauls Church in Frankfurt
1963-06-26 US President John F. Kennedy gives his famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" (intended to mean "I am a Berliner", but may actually mean "I am a doughnut") speech in West Berlin
1963-06-27 US President John F. Kennedy spend his 1st full day in Ireland
1963-07-01 US President JFK arrives in Rome
1963-09-20 JFK proposes a joint US-Soviet voyage to the moon
1963-10-07 JFK signs ratification for nuclear test ban treaty
1963-10-31 J. Edgar Hoover's last meeting with President John F. Kennedy
1963-11-21 US President John F. Kennedy flies to Texas (assassinated the next day)
1963-11-22 Lyndon B. Johnson sworn in as the 36th US President after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy
1963-11-22 US President John F. Kennedy assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald while riding in an open-topped motorcade in Dallas, Texas
1963-11-23 Following the protocol after Abraham Lincoln's death, JFK's body lies in repose in the East Room of the White House and viewed by officials and heads of state
1963-11-23 LBJ proclaims Nov 25 a day of national mourning after the assassination of JFK
1963-11-25 JFK laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery
1963-11-29 US President LBJ sets up the Warren Commission to investigate the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy
1963-12-06 President Lyndon B. Johnson confers Presidential Medal of Freedom on 31 recipients selected by JFK, including: contralto Marian Anderson; diplomat Ralph Bunche; cellist Pablo Casals; Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter; labor leader George Meaney; architect Mies van der Rohe; pianist Rudolf Serkin; writers E. B. White and Thorton Wilder; and painter Andrew Wyeth; as well as posthumously to JFK himself, and Pope John XXIII
1963-12-22 Official 30-day mourning period for President John F. Kennedy ends
1963-12-30 Congress authorizes Kennedy half dollar, in honor of John F. Kennedy
1964-01-14 Jacqueline Kennedy's 1st public appearance (TV) since US President JFK's assassination
1964-03-25 Britain sets memorial for the late President John F. Kennedy
1964-09-27 Findings of the Warren Commission into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy released, finds Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone
1967-03-14 JFK's body moved from temporary grave to a permanent memorial
1977-06-12 Groundbreaking ceremony for John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston, Massachusetts; architect I. M. Pei's design would take over 2 years to build
1979-10-20 John F. Kennedy Library dedicated in Boston, Massachusetts