John
F. Kennedy (1917-1963) 35th
president of the United States (1961-1963) |
|
John
Fitzgerald Kennedy was born in Brookline, Massachusetts
on May 29, 1917. He was one of nine children. His
siblings were Joe, Rosemary, Kathleen, Eunice, Patricia, Robert, Jean and Teddy. His mother was Rose Fitzgerald
Kennedy and his father was Joseph Patrick Kennedy.
John attended Choate, a private boarding school
for adolescent boys in Connecticut. He was very
popular and had many friends. He played tennis,
basketball, football, and golf and also enjoyed
reading. In 1936 John enrolled at Harvard University
in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
John
entered the Navy after graduating from Harvard in
1940. On August 2, 1943 John’s PT 109 patrol boat
was destroyed by a Japanese destroyer killing two
of his men. John managed to save himself
and several others. He was awarded the Navy &
Marine Corps Medal for leadership and courage.
After
the war John was faced with uncertainty. His father
suggested that he should run for office. He ran
for the Massachusetts 11th congressional
district and won in 1946. He served 3 terms in the
House of Representatives and in 1952 was elected
to the US Senate. Soon after being elected senator,
he married twenty-four year-old Jacqueline Bouvier,
a writer with the Washington Times-Herald.
They had two children Caroline and John-John. After
serving eight years in the Senate he was elected
President of the United States, defeating Richard
M. Nixon. In 1961, at 43 years of age, John F. Kennedy
was sworn in as the 35th president of
the United States.
As President of the United States, Kennedy faced
many challenges. In 1962 he faced the
Cuban Missile Crisis. Russia was attempting
to position nuclear war heads in Cuba only 90 miles
off the coast of Florida. President Kennedy ordered
a Naval blockade of all ships bound for Cuba.
It was a tense time as the world teetered on the
verge of nuclear war. Fortunately, Russia withdrew
the missiles and agreed
to sign the
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
In
addition, President Kennedy created
Project Apollo which paved the way for American
space exploration. He also guided the nation through
the difficult period of desegregation. In the early
1960s, President Kennedy challenged students to
serve their country in the pursuit of peace by assisting
developing countries. As a result, the
Peace Corps was created.
On November 22 1963, in Dallas, TX, President John
F. Kennedy was shot and killed by Lee Harvey Oswald
while in a motorcade. It was one of the most shocking
news events in the history of the United States.
Millions of people mourned. Only two days later,
on November 24, 1963 Jack Ruby shot Lee Harvey Oswald
dead.
John
F. Kennedy will forever live on in the heart of
Americans. Since his death, he has been honored
by numerous cities and organizations. The Kennedy
Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.,
and the Kennedy Space Center were named for him.
He has also appeared on numerous postage stamps
as well as the U.S. half dollar.
White
House Site
http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/jk35.html
John
F. Kennedy Library and Museum
http://www.cs.umb.edu/jfklibrary/
