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Early life
Born on May 29, 1917, in Brookline, Massachusetts. His parents, Joseph and Rose Kennedy. -
U.S. Navy
John joined the U.S. Navy. -
Patrol-Torpedo
Was sent to the South Pacific, where he was given command of a Patrol-Torpedo (PT) boat. -
Marine Corps Medal
Kennedy helped some of his marooned crew back to safety, and was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for heroism. -
Leaves the Navy
John left the Navy. -
Beginnings in politics
He entered the 80th Congress, at the age of 29, and immediately attracted attention. -
Reelection
Kennedy won reelection to the House of Representatives in 1948 and 1950 and in 1952 ran successfully for the Senate. -
Kennedy married
Married the beautiful socialite and journalist Jacqueline (Jackie) Lee Bouvier. -
"Profiles in courage"
John F. Kennedy "writes" Profiles in Courage, a history of heroic American senators. In fact, the book is largely written by his speechwriter, Theodore Sorensen. -
The Pulitzer Prize
“Profiles in Courage,” won the Pulitzer Prize for biography (The book was later revealed to be mostly the work of Kennedy’s longtime aide, Theodore Sorenson). -
Presidency
Kennedy won by a narrow margin–less than 120,000 out of some 70 million votes cast–becoming the youngest man and the first Roman Catholic to be elected president of the United States. -
Inaugural address
The new president called on his fellow Americans to work together in the pursuit of progress and the elimination of poverty, but also in the battle to win the ongoing Cold War against communism around the world. -
Cuban exiles
An early crisis in the foreign affairs arena occurred, when Kennedy approved the plan to send 1,400 CIA-trained Cuban exiles in an amphibious landing at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba. -
Cuban exiles
Intended to spur a rebellion that would overthrow the communist leader Fidel Castro, the mission ended in failure, with nearly all of the exiles captured or killed. -
Kennedy met with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev
When they met in Viena discuss the city of Berlin, which had been divided after World War II between Allied and Soviet control. -
U.S.A. and Latin American nations
U.S.A. and Latin American nations join in the "Alliance for Progress." -
Steel industry
JFK forces the steel industry to eliminate a price increase. -
His first year in office
he was unable to achieve much of his proposed legislation during his lifetime, including two of his biggest priorities: income tax cuts and a civil rights bill. -
Khrushchev agreed to join Kennedy
And Britain’s Prime Minister Harold Macmillan in signing a nuclear test ban treaty. -
John F. Kennedy assassination
The party then traveled in a motorcade to the Dallas Trade Mart, the site of Jack’s next speaking engagement. Shortly after 12:30 p.m., as the motorcade was passing through downtown Dallas, shots rang out; Kennedy was struck twice, in the neck and head, and was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at a nearby hospital.
