John F. Kennedy

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For other people named John Kennedy, see John Kennedy (disambiguation).
For other people named Jack Kennedy, see Jack Kennedy (disambiguation).
"JFK" redirects here. For other uses, see JFK (disambiguation).
John F. Kennedy

35th President of the United States
In office
January 20, 1961 – November 22, 1963
Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson
Preceded by Dwight D. Eisenhower
Succeeded by Lyndon B. Johnson
United States Senator
from Massachusetts
In office
January 3, 1953 – December 22, 1960
Preceded by Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.
Succeeded by Benjamin A. Smith
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Massachusetts's 11th district
In office
January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1953
Preceded by James Michael Curley
Succeeded by Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr.

Born May 29, 1917
Brookline, Massachusetts
Died November 22, 1963 (aged 46)
Dallas, Texas
Birth name John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy
Children Arabella Kennedy
Caroline Bouvier Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Jr.
Patrick Bouvier Kennedy
Alma mater Harvard University (S.B.)[1]
Religion Roman Catholic
Signature
Military service
Allegiance United States of America
Service/branch United States Navy
Years of service 1941–1945
Rank Lieutenant
Unit Motor Torpedo Boat PT-109
Battles/wars World War II
Solomon Islands campaign
Awards Navy and Marine Corps Medal
Purple Heart
American Defense Service Medal
American Campaign Medal
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with 3 bronze stars
World War II Victory Medal[2]
The coat of arms of John F. Kennedy[3]

Information ~
Date of origin 1961
Shield Sable three helmets in profile Or within a bordure per saltire gules and ermine.
Crest and mantle Upon a torse Or and sable, Between two olive branches a cubit sinister arm in armour erect the hand holding a sheaf of four arrows points upwards all proper, the mantling gules doubled argent.


John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963.

After Kennedy's military service as commander of the Motor Torpedo Boat PT-109 during World War II in the South Pacific, his aspirations turned political. With the encouragement and grooming of his father, Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr., Kennedy represented Massachusetts's 11th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1947 to 1953 as a Democrat, and served in the U.S. Senate from 1953 until 1960. Kennedy defeated then Vice President and Republican candidate Richard Nixon in the 1960 U.S. presidential election, one of the closest in American history. He was the second-youngest President (after Theodore Roosevelt), the first President born in the 20th century, and the youngest elected to the office, at the age of 43.[4][5] Kennedy is the first and only Catholic and the first Irish American president, and is the only president to have won a Pulitzer Prize.[6] Events during his administration include the Bay of Pigs Invasion, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the building of the Berlin Wall, the Space Race, the African American Civil Rights Movement and early stages of the Vietnam War.

Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas. Lee Harvey Oswald was charged with the crime but was shot and killed two days later by Jack Ruby before he could be put on trial. The FBI, the Warren Commission, and the House Select Committee on Assassinations concluded that Oswald was the assassin, with the HSCA allowing for the probability of conspiracy based on disputed acoustic evidence. The event proved to be an important moment in U.S. history because of its impact on the nation and the ensuing political repercussions. Today, Kennedy continues to rank highly in public opinion ratings of former U.S. presidents.