DemocratPresident · Massachusetts
John F. Kennedy"JFK"
1961 first electedLeft office 19632 years servedBorn 1917 in Brookline, MassachusettsDied 1963
Biography
John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born May 29, 1917, in Brookline, Massachusetts, into the prominent Kennedy family. He served as a Navy lieutenant in WWII, where he famously helped save his crew after his patrol boat, PT-109, was destroyed by a Japanese destroyer. He became a U.S. Representative and then Senator from Massachusetts before winning the presidency in 1960 at age 43, making him the youngest person ever elected to the office. His presidency (1961–1963) was defined by the Cuban Missile Crisis, the establishment of the Peace Corps, early steps toward civil rights legislation, and the launch of the Apollo space program with his famous goal of landing a man on the moon. He was assassinated on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, cutting his presidency short at under three years.
Additional Info
Spouse
Jacqueline Bouvier
Vice President
Lyndon B. Johnson
Prior Offices
United States Senator from Massachusetts
Fun Fact
Kennedy is the only U.S. president to have won a Pulitzer Prize — for his 1957 book Profiles in Courage, about senators who risked their careers by taking principled political stands. There's long been debate over how much of it he wrote himself versus his speechwriter Ted Sorensen, but it remains a fun and unusual credential for a president to hold.
Election History
No election records found in the database yet.