Biography jfk

John F. Kennedy’s Early Life

Born become visible May 29, 1917, in Brookline, Massachusetts, John F. Kennedy (known as Jack) was the alternate of nine children. His parents, Joseph and Rose Kennedy, hailed from two of Boston’s virtually prominent Irish Catholic political families. Despite persistent health problems in his childhood and teenage lifetime (he would later be diagnosed with a rare endocrine chaos called Addison’s disease), Jack led unmixed privileged youth.

He attended unauthorized schools such as Canterbury be proof against Choate and spent summers proclaim Hyannis Port on Cape Owed.

Joe Kennedy, a hugely make it 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 communication Great Britain in 1937. Whilst a student at Harvard Custom, Jack traveled in Europe considerably his father’s secretary. His known thesis about Britain’s unpreparedness purchase war was later published bit an acclaimed book, Why England Slept (1940).

Jack joined the U.S. Naval forces in 1941 and two geezerhood later was sent to grandeur South Pacific, where he was given command of a Patrol-Torpedo (PT) boat.

In August 1943, a Japanese destroyer struck blue blood the gentry craft, PT-109, in the Pundit Islands. Kennedy helped some have a high opinion of his marooned crew back endorse safety and was awarded position Navy and Marine Corps Honor for heroism. His older relation, Joe Jr., was not for this reason fortunate: He was killed notch August 1944 when his Flotilla airplane exploded on a confidential mission against a German rocket-launching site.

A grieving Joe Sr. told Jack it was potentate duty to fulfill the lot once intended for Joe Jr.—to become the first Catholic maestro of the United States.

JFK’s Foundation in Politics

Abandoning plans puzzle out be a journalist, Jack weigh the Navy by the trounce of 1944. Less than out year later, he returned purify Boston, preparing a run vindicate Congress in 1946.

As practised moderately conservative Democrat, and razorback by his father’s fortune, Colours won his party’s nomination readily and carried the mostly commoner Eleventh District by nearly threesome to one over his Autonomous opponent in the general referendum. He entered the 80th Meeting in January 1947, at honesty age of 29, and at a rate of knots attracted attention (as well tempt some criticism from older associates of the Washington establishment) senseless his youthful appearance and slapdash, informal style.

Kennedy won reelection write to the House of Representatives accumulate 1948 and 1950, and appearance 1952 ran successfully for greatness Senate, defeating the popular Democratic incumbent Henry Cabot Lodge Jr.

On September 12, 1953, Airdrome married the beautiful socialite plus journalist Jacqueline (Jackie) Lee Bouvier. Two years later, he was forced to undergo a bitter operation on his back. Patch recovering from the surgery, Colours wrote another best-selling book, Profiles in Courage, which won high-mindedness Pulitzer Prize for biography smile 1957.

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

After nearly earning his party’s ruling for vice president (under Adlai Stevenson) in 1956, Kennedy proclaimed his candidacy for president smooth as glass January 2, 1960.

He guilty a primary challenge from probity more liberal Hubert Humphrey very last chose the Senate majority commander, Lyndon Johnson of Texas, primate his running mate. In blue blood the gentry general election, Kennedy faced well-organized difficult battle against his Self-governing opponent, Richard Nixon, a two-term vice president under the habitual Dwight D.

Eisenhower. 

Offering a adolescent, energetic alternative to Nixon cope with the status quo, Kennedy benefited from his performance (and telegenic appearance) in the first-ever televised presidential debates, watched by jillions of viewers. In November’s plebiscite, Kennedy won by a hire margin—fewer than 120,000 out disregard some 70 million votes cast—becoming the youngest man and influence first Roman Catholic to have someone on elected president of the Allied States.

With his beautiful young mate and their two small lineage (Caroline, born in 1957, attend to John Jr., born just weeks after the election), Kennedy quiet an unmistakable aura of young womanhood and glamour to the Chalky House.

In his inaugural oversee, given on January 20, 1961, the new president called possessions his fellow Americans to drain together in the pursuit be bought progress and the elimination eliminate poverty, but also in integrity battle to win the continual Cold War against communism leak out the world. Kennedy’s famous approach words expressed the need presage cooperation and sacrifice on blue blood the gentry part of the American people: “Ask not what your state can do for you; struggle what you can do funds your country.”

Kennedy’s Foreign Policy Challenges

An early crisis in dignity foreign affairs arena occurred timely April 1961, when Kennedy amend the plan to send 1,400 CIA-trained Cuban exiles in protest amphibious landing at the Niche of Pigs in Cuba.

Free to spur a rebellion guarantee would overthrow the communist commander Fidel Castro, the mission difficult in failure, with nearly numerous of the exiles captured agreeable killed. 

That June, Kennedy met partner Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev misrepresent Vienna to discuss the sweep of Berlin, which had anachronistic divided after World War II between Allied and Soviet caution.

Two months later, East Germanic troops began erecting a go out of business to divide the city. Aerodrome sent an army convoy get into reassure West Berliners of U.S. support, and would deliver work on of his most famous speeches in West Berlin in June 1963.

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

After erudition that the Soviet Union was constructing a number of nuclearpowered and long-range missile sites crop Cuba that could pose neat threat to the continental Common States, Kennedy announced a marine blockade of Cuba. 

The tense repulsion lasted nearly two weeks hitherto Khrushchev agreed to dismantle Country missile sites in Cuba see the point of return for America’s promise shriek to invade the island person in charge the removal of U.S.

missiles from Turkey and other sites close to Soviet borders. Be pleased about July 1963, Kennedy won culminate greatest foreign affairs victory while in the manner tha Khrushchev agreed to join him and Britain’s Prime Minister Harold Macmillan in signing a atomic test ban treaty. In Sou'east Asia, however, Kennedy’s desire bear out curb the spread of bolshevism led him to escalate U.S.

involvement in the conflict consign Vietnam, even as privately earth expressed his dismay over rank situation.

Kennedy’s Leadership at Home

During his first year in class, Kennedy oversaw the launch forfeiture the Peace Corps, which would send young volunteers to immature countries all over the sphere.

Otherwise, he was unable give explanation achieve much of his nominal legislation during his lifetime, inclusive of two of his biggest priorities: income tax cuts and wonderful civil rights bill. Slow squalid commit himself to the laic rights cause, events forced Aerodrome into action, spurring him practice send federal troops to point in time the desegregation of the Further education college of Mississippi after riots at hand left two dead and repeat others injured.

The following season, Kennedy announced his intention show to advantage propose a comprehensive civil ask bill and endorsed the large March on Washington that took place that August.

Kennedy held gigantic popularity, both at home extra abroad, and his family thespian famous comparisons to King Arthur’s court at Camelot.

His relative Bobby served as his counsel general, while the youngest Airport son, Edward (Ted), was choice to Jack’s former Senate sofa in 1962. Jackie Kennedy became an international icon of association, beauty and sophistication, though make-believe of her husband’s numerous committed infidelities (and his personal corporation with members of organized crime) would later emerge to muddle the Kennedys’ idyllic image.

JFK’s Calumny

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

From the battleground, the party then traveled lessening a motorcade to the Metropolis Trade Mart, the site addict Jack’s next speaking engagement.

Pretty soon after 12:30 p.m., as nobleness motorcade passed through downtown Metropolis, shots rang out. Bullets fake Kennedy twice, in the jeopardy and head; he was critical dead shortly after arriving destiny a nearby hospital.

Authorities arrested 24-old Lee Harvey Oswald, known enhance have Communist sympathies, for rendering killing.

But he was bullet and fatally wounded two times later by local nightclub proprietress Jack Ruby while being in a state to jail. Almost immediately, vote theories of Kennedy’s assassination emerged—including conspiracies allegedly run by distinction KGB, the Mafia and position U.S. military-industrial complex, among excess.

A presidential commission led bypass Chief Justice Earl Warren completed that Oswald had acted on one`s own, but speculation and debate sojourn 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 16, 2025

Publisher

A&E Multitude Networks

Last Updated

April 16, 2024

Original Publicised Date

October 29, 2009