Happy Birthday JFK
On this day of May 29th, in 1917, 94 years ago today, John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born in Brookline, Massachusetts. At 43 years of age he was the youngest man ever elected President (but not the youngest to become President, Theodore Roosevelt achieved that milestone upon the death of William McKinley) and was also the first Catholic (and so far the only one) to become President. On November 22, 1963, when he was barely past his first thousand days in office, John Fitzgerald Kennedy was shot by one or possibly more assassins as his motorcade drove through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas. Kennedy was also the youngest President to die in office.
Kennedy was the son of prominent businessman Joseph P. Kennedy. He graduated from Harvard in 1940, and joined the Navy during the second world war. In 1943, the PT boat that he was captain of was rammed and sunk by a Japanese destroyer. An injured Kennedy led the survivors through perilous waters to safety.
When he returned home from the war, he became a Democratic Congressman from the Boston area, and was elected to the US Senate in 1952. He married Jacqueline Bouvier on September 12, 1953. In 1955, while recuperating from a back operation, he wrote Profiles in Courage, which won the Pulitzer Prize in history.
In 1956 Kennedy almost gained the Democratic nomination for Vice President, and four years later was a first-ballot nominee for President. Millions watched his television debates with the Republican candidate, Richard M. Nixon. Winning by a narrow margin in the popular vote, Kennedy won the electoral college by a margin of 303 to 219. His Inaugural Address contained the memorable words: "Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country."
As President, his economic programs launched the country on its longest sustained expansion since World War II. He formed the Peace Corps, to aid developing nations. But it was on the international front that he faced his biggest challenges. Shortly after his inauguration, Kennedy permitted a band of Cuban exiles, already armed and trained, to invade their homeland. The attempt to overthrow the regime of Fidel Castro was a failure. Soon thereafter, the Soviet Union renewed its campaign against West Berlin. Kennedy replied by reinforcing the Berlin garrison and increasing the Nation's military strength, including new efforts in outer space.
The Russians sought to install nuclear missiles in Cuba. When this was discovered by air reconnaissance in October 1962, Kennedy imposed a quarantine on all offensive weapons bound for Cuba. While the world trembled on the brink of nuclear war, the Russians backed down and agreed to take the missiles away. Kennedy argued that both sides had a vital interest in stopping the spread of nuclear weapons and slowing the arms race--a contention which led to the test ban treaty of 1963.
Years after Kennedy's death, it was revealed that in September 1947, at age 30, and while in his first term in Congress, he was diagnosed with Addison's disease, a rare endocrine disorder. In 1966, his White House doctor, Janet Travell, revealed that Kennedy also had hypothyroidism. He also suffered from chronic and severe back pain.
His assassination continues to be the subject of numerous conspiracy theories. The official report of the Warren Commission has only served to fuel these theories with its preposterous "magic bullet" theory. The likelihood that he was killed by a lone gunman is very difficult to believe when one views the film of his assassination taken by Abraham Zapruder.
Kennedy is buried in Arlington National Cemetery at a spot overlooking the capitol. His resting place is marked by an "eternal flame."
Kennedy was the son of prominent businessman Joseph P. Kennedy. He graduated from Harvard in 1940, and joined the Navy during the second world war. In 1943, the PT boat that he was captain of was rammed and sunk by a Japanese destroyer. An injured Kennedy led the survivors through perilous waters to safety.
When he returned home from the war, he became a Democratic Congressman from the Boston area, and was elected to the US Senate in 1952. He married Jacqueline Bouvier on September 12, 1953. In 1955, while recuperating from a back operation, he wrote Profiles in Courage, which won the Pulitzer Prize in history.
In 1956 Kennedy almost gained the Democratic nomination for Vice President, and four years later was a first-ballot nominee for President. Millions watched his television debates with the Republican candidate, Richard M. Nixon. Winning by a narrow margin in the popular vote, Kennedy won the electoral college by a margin of 303 to 219. His Inaugural Address contained the memorable words: "Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country."
As President, his economic programs launched the country on its longest sustained expansion since World War II. He formed the Peace Corps, to aid developing nations. But it was on the international front that he faced his biggest challenges. Shortly after his inauguration, Kennedy permitted a band of Cuban exiles, already armed and trained, to invade their homeland. The attempt to overthrow the regime of Fidel Castro was a failure. Soon thereafter, the Soviet Union renewed its campaign against West Berlin. Kennedy replied by reinforcing the Berlin garrison and increasing the Nation's military strength, including new efforts in outer space.
The Russians sought to install nuclear missiles in Cuba. When this was discovered by air reconnaissance in October 1962, Kennedy imposed a quarantine on all offensive weapons bound for Cuba. While the world trembled on the brink of nuclear war, the Russians backed down and agreed to take the missiles away. Kennedy argued that both sides had a vital interest in stopping the spread of nuclear weapons and slowing the arms race--a contention which led to the test ban treaty of 1963.
Years after Kennedy's death, it was revealed that in September 1947, at age 30, and while in his first term in Congress, he was diagnosed with Addison's disease, a rare endocrine disorder. In 1966, his White House doctor, Janet Travell, revealed that Kennedy also had hypothyroidism. He also suffered from chronic and severe back pain.
His assassination continues to be the subject of numerous conspiracy theories. The official report of the Warren Commission has only served to fuel these theories with its preposterous "magic bullet" theory. The likelihood that he was killed by a lone gunman is very difficult to believe when one views the film of his assassination taken by Abraham Zapruder.
Kennedy is buried in Arlington National Cemetery at a spot overlooking the capitol. His resting place is marked by an "eternal flame."