On This Day

John F. Kennedy

35th US President John F. Kennedy

Profession: 35th US President

Nationality:
United States of America
American

Political Party: Democratic Democratic Party
Political Titles: Senator from Massachusetts

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

Why Famous: 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
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

Events in the Life of John F. Kennedy

  • 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 awarded to John F. Kennedy (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 primary in West Virginia
  • 1960-07-13 US Democratic convention nominates JFK as presidential candidate
  • 1960-09-12 John F. Kennedy avers he does not speak for the Roman Catholic Church, and neither does the Church speak for him.

  • 1960-10-14 Peace Corps 1st suggested by John F. Kennedy in a sppech 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 Robert Frost recites "Gift Outright" at JFK's inauguration
  • 1961-01-25 1st live, nationally televised presidential news conference with 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
  • 1961-02-28 JFK 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 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 Moon before the end of decade
  • 1961-06-03 JFK & 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 John F. Kennedy emphasizes that any attack on Berlin is an attack on NATO
  • 1961-09-05 JFK 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
  • 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 JFK announces US will resume above ground nuclear testing
  • 1962-06-11 US President John F. Kennedy accepts an honorary degree from Yale
  • 1962-09-29 JFK authorized use of federal troops to integrate U of Mississippi
  • 1962-09-30 JFK routes 3,000 federal troops to Mississippi
  • 1962-10-16 Cuban Missile Crisis begins as JFK is shown photos confirming the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba
  • 1962-10-18 JFK 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
  • 1962-10-26 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 JFK offers Israel assistance against aggression
  • 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
  • 1963-06-26 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 spent 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 US President John F. Kennedy assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald while riding in an open-topped motorcade in Dallas, Texas
  • 1963-11-23 JFK's body lay in repose in East Room of White House
  • 1963-11-23 LBJ proclaims Nov 25 a day of national mourning (for JFK)
  • 1963-11-25 JFK laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery
  • 1963-12-22 Official 30-day mourning period for President John F. Kennedy ends
  • 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
  • 1979-10-20 John F. Kennedy Library dedicated in Boston

Quotes by John F. Kennedy

  • "Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought."

External Biographies


Famous US Presidents

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