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John F. Kennedy Biography - Quotes

John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy was born on May 29, 1917 and is often referred to by his initials, JFK. He was the thirty-fifth President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963.

JFK served in the military as commander of the Motor Torpedo Boat PT-109 during World War II in the South Pacific. He was convinced to turn political with the encouragement of his father, Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr., former Ambassador to the United Kingdom. JFK represented Massachusetts in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1947 to 1953 and the U.S. Senate from 1953 to 1960 as a Democrat. Kennedy then defeated Republican candidate Richard Nixon in the 1960 presidential election, one of the closest in American history. JFK is the youngest and only practicing Roman Catholic to ever be elected president. He is also the only president to have won a Pulitzer Prize.

Kennedy's administration included many events consisting of the Bay of Pigs Invasion, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the building of the Berlin Wall, the Space Race, the African American Civil Rights Movement, the creation of the Peace Corps, and early events of the Vietnam War.

John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas during a public appearance. He was shot twice in the neck and head, and was pronounced dead at 1:00 PM. Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested at a movie theater at 1:50 PM. He denied shooting anyone, and was killed by Jack Ruby on November 24, before he could be tried.

President Lyndon B. Johnson created the Warren Commission—chaired by Chief Justice Earl Warren—to investigate the assassination. It concluded that Oswald was the lone assassin, but is still disputed by many scholars and eyewitnesses.

John. F. Kennedy is buried at Arlington National Cemetery with his wife, deceased children and his brother, Senator Robert Kennedy.

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