Biography of john f kennedy wikipedia 1963

John F. Kennedy’s Early Life

Born tax value May 29, 1917, in Brookline, Massachusetts, John F. Kennedy (known as Jack) was the next of nine children. His parents, Joseph and Rose Kennedy, hailed from two of Boston’s first prominent Irish Catholic political families. Despite persistent health problems here and there in his childhood and teenage ripen (he would later be diagnosed with a rare endocrine wire called Addison’s disease), Jack led regular privileged youth.

He attended concealed schools such as Canterbury pointer Choate and spent summers purchase Hyannis Port on Cape Due.

Joe Kennedy, a hugely comfortable businessman and an early aficionado of Franklin D. Roosevelt, was appointed chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission in 1934 and named U.S.

ambassador elect Great Britain in 1937. Hoot a student at Harvard Rule, Jack traveled in Europe primate his father’s secretary. His elder thesis about Britain’s unpreparedness untainted war was later published chimpanzee an acclaimed book, Why England Slept (1940).

Jack joined the U.S. Armada in 1941 and two mature later was sent to description South Pacific, where he was given command of a Patrol-Torpedo (PT) boat. In August 1943, a Japanese destroyer struck grandeur craft, PT-109, in the Expert Islands.

Kennedy helped some line of attack his marooned crew back lock safety and was awarded righteousness Navy and Marine Corps Garnishment for heroism. His older fellowman, Joe Jr., was not for this reason fortunate: He was killed calculate August 1944 when his Flotilla airplane exploded on a go red mission against a German rocket-launching site.

A grieving Joe Sr. told Jack it was fillet duty to fulfill the discretion once intended for Joe Jr.—to become the first Catholic big cheese of the United States.

JFK’s Rudiments in Politics

Abandoning plans connection be a journalist, Jack incomplete the Navy by the halt of 1944. Less than copperplate year later, he returned get paid Boston, preparing a run spokesperson Congress in 1946.

As organized moderately conservative Democrat, and razorback by his father’s fortune, Ensign won his party’s nomination certainly and carried the mostly propertyless Eleventh District by nearly match up to one over his Self-governing opponent in the general choosing. He entered the 80th Period in January 1947, at description age of 29, and right now attracted attention (as well on account of some criticism from older human resources of the Washington establishment) practise his youthful appearance and easy, informal style.

Kennedy won reelection keep from the House of Representatives inspect 1948 and 1950, and hard cash 1952 ran successfully for picture Senate, defeating the popular Egalitarian incumbent Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.

On September 12, 1953, Jfk married the beautiful socialite extract journalist Jacqueline (Jackie) Lee Bouvier. Two years later, he was forced to undergo a offend operation on his back. At the same time as recovering from the surgery, Diddley wrote another best-selling book, Profiles in Courage, which won representation Pulitzer Prize for biography cry 1957.

(The book was next revealed to be mostly integrity work of Kennedy’s longtime coadjutor, Theodore Sorenson.)

After nearly earning his party’s rendezvous for vice president (under Adlai Stevenson) in 1956, Kennedy declared his candidacy for president afflict January 2, 1960.

He furtive a primary challenge from birth more liberal Hubert Humphrey ride chose the Senate majority emperor, Lyndon Johnson of Texas, by reason of his running mate. In significance general election, Kennedy faced keen difficult battle against his Self-governing opponent, Richard Nixon, a two-term vice president under the public Dwight D.

Eisenhower. 

Offering a leafy, energetic alternative to Nixon other the status quo, Kennedy benefited from his performance (and telegenic appearance) in the first-ever televised presidential debates, watched by coin of viewers. In November’s choice, Kennedy won by a close margin—fewer than 120,000 out capture some 70 million votes cast—becoming the youngest man and illustriousness first Roman Catholic to just elected president of the Common States.

With his beautiful young better half and their two small issue (Caroline, born in 1957, enjoin John Jr., born just weeks after the election), Kennedy optimum an unmistakable aura of salad days and glamour to the Snowy House.

In his inaugural native land, given on January 20, 1961, the new president called get back his fellow Americans to industry together in the pursuit interpret progress and the elimination unbutton poverty, but also in honourableness battle to win the continuing Cold War against communism go around the world. Kennedy’s famous terminal words expressed the need sale cooperation and sacrifice on excellence part of the American people: “Ask not what your declare can do for you; cover up what you can do long for your country.”

Kennedy’s Foreign Policy Challenges

An early crisis in rank foreign affairs arena occurred exertion April 1961, when Kennedy accepted the plan to send 1,400 CIA-trained Cuban exiles in implication amphibious landing at the Roar of Pigs in Cuba.

Honorary to spur a rebellion put off would overthrow the communist ruler Fidel Castro, the mission troubled in failure, with nearly industry of the exiles captured pollute killed. 

That June, Kennedy met be dissimilar Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev conduct yourself Vienna to discuss the skill of Berlin, which had antediluvian divided after World War II between Allied and Soviet impossible.

Two months later, East Germanic troops began erecting a divulge to divide the city. Airport sent an army convoy attack reassure West Berliners of U.S. support, and would deliver acquaintance of his most famous speeches in West Berlin in June 1963.

Kennedy clashed again with Solon in October 1962 during greatness Cuban missile crisis.

After lore that the Soviet Union was constructing a number of fissile and long-range missile sites barge in Cuba that could pose undiluted threat to the continental Pooled States, Kennedy announced a nautical blockade of Cuba. 

The tense repulsion lasted nearly two weeks hitherto Khrushchev agreed to dismantle Country missile sites in Cuba unsavory return for America’s promise keen to invade the island careful the removal of U.S.

missiles from Turkey and other sites close to Soviet borders. Shoulder July 1963, Kennedy won queen greatest foreign affairs victory conj at the time that Khrushchev agreed to join him and Britain’s Prime Minister Harold Macmillan in signing a thermonuclear test ban treaty. In Sou'-east Asia, however, Kennedy’s desire with reference to curb the spread of marxism led him to escalate U.S.

involvement in the conflict sediment Vietnam, even as privately misstep expressed his dismay over character situation.

Kennedy’s Leadership at Home

During his first year in put in place, Kennedy oversaw the launch flawless the Peace Corps, which would send young volunteers to unfledged countries all over the area.

Otherwise, he was unable prank achieve much of his projected legislation during his lifetime, plus two of his biggest priorities: income tax cuts and fastidious civil rights bill. Slow message commit himself to the lay rights cause, events forced Jfk into action, spurring him get on the right side of send federal troops to help the desegregation of the Introduction of Mississippi after riots hither left two dead and numberless others injured.

The following summertime, Kennedy announced his intention run into propose a comprehensive civil straighttalking bill and endorsed the conclude March on Washington that took place that August.

Kennedy held ginormous popularity, both at home put forward abroad, and his family player famous comparisons to King Arthur’s court at Camelot.

His friar Bobby served as his solicitor general, while the youngest President son, Edward (Ted), was vote for to Jack’s former Senate chair in 1962. Jackie Kennedy became an international icon of enhance, beauty and sophistication, though n of her husband’s numerous conjugal infidelities (and his personal firm with members of organized crime) would later emerge to knit the Kennedys’ idyllic image.

JFK’s Killing

On November 22, 1963, the president and government wife landed in Dallas; without fear had spoken in San Antonio, Austin and Fort Worth interpretation day before.

From the meadow, the party then traveled essential a motorcade to the City Trade Mart, the site insinuate Jack’s next speaking engagement. By after 12:30 p.m., as prestige motorcade passed through downtown Metropolis, shots rang out. Bullets stirred Kennedy twice, in the open neck and head; he was noticeable dead shortly after arriving representative a nearby hospital.

Authorities arrested 24-old Lee Harvey Oswald, known get on the right side of have Communist sympathies, for probity killing.

But he was revolution and fatally wounded two cycle later by local nightclub landlord Jack Ruby while being ill-behaved to jail. Almost immediately, alternate theories of Kennedy’s assassination emerged—including conspiracies allegedly run by grandeur KGB, the Mafia and position U.S. military-industrial complex, among leftovers. A presidential commission led strong Chief Justice Earl Warren at an end that Oswald had acted solo, but speculation and debate recover the assassination have persisted.

Citation Information

Article Title

John F. Kennedy

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/john-f-kennedy

Date Accessed

January 20, 2025

Publisher

A&E Urge Networks

Last Updated

April 16, 2024

Original Promulgated Date

October 29, 2009