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at least we can help make the
world safe
For diversity
John. F. Kennedy
 Born on May 29, 1917 in Brookline, Massachusetts, John F. Kennedy was a congressman and senator before becoming the 35th U.S. president in 1961. As president, he faced a number of foreign crises, especially in Cuba and Berlin, but managed to secure such achievements as the Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty and the Alliance for Progress. In 1963, JFK was assassinated while riding in a motorcade in Dallas. Early lifeJohn F. Kennedy, known later in life as JFK, was born on May 29, 1917 in Brookline, Massachusetts. Both the Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys were wealthy and prominent Irish Catholic Boston families. Kennedy's paternal grandfather, P.J. Kennedy, was a wealthy banker and liquor trader, and his maternal grandfather, John E. Fitzgerald, nicknamed "Honey Fitz," was a skilled politician who served as a congressman and as the mayor of Boston. Kennedy's mother, Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald, was a Boston debutante, and his father, Joseph Kennedy Sr., was a successful banker who made a fortune on the stock market after World War I. Joe Kennedy Sr. went on to a government career as Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission and as an Ambassador to Great Britain.Nicknamed Jack, Kennedy was the second oldest of a group of nine extraordinary siblings. His brothers and sisters include Eunice Kennedy, the founder of the Special Olympics, Robert Kennedy, a U.S. Attorney General and Ted Kennedy, one of the most powerful senators in American history. The Kennedy children remained close-knit and supportive of each other throughout their entire lives. Joseph and Rose Kennedy largely spurned the world of Boston socialites into which they had been born to focus instead on their children's education. Joe Kennedy in particular obsessed over every detail of his kids' lives, a rarity for a father at that time. As a family friend noted, "Most fathers in those days simply weren't that interested in what their children did. But Joe Kennedy knew what his kids were up to all the time." Joe Sr. had great expectations for his children, and he sought to instill in them a fierce competitive fire and the belief that winning was everything. He entered his children in swimming and sailing competitions and chided them for finishing in anything but first place. John F. Kennedy's sister Eunice later recalled, "I was twenty-four before I knew I didn't have to win something every day." Jack Kennedy bought into his father's philosophy that winning was everything. "He hates to lose at anything," Eunice said. "That's the only thing Jack gets really emotional about—when he loses." Despite his father's constant reprimands, young Kennedy was a poor student and a mischievous boy. He attended a Catholic boys' boarding school in Connecticut called Canterbury, where he excelled at English and history, the subjects he enjoyed, but nearly flunked Latin, in which he had no interest. Despite his poor grades, Kennedy continued on to Choate, an elite Connecticut preparatory school. Although he was obviously brilliant – evidenced by the extraordinary thoughtfulness and nuance of his work on the rare occasions when he applied himself—Kennedy remained at best a mediocre student, preferring sports, girls and practical jokes to coursework. |
Quotes
"Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names."
– John F. Kennedy
"Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future."
– John F. Kennedy
"We need men who can dream of things that never were and not ask why."
– John F. Kennedy
"If we cannot now end our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity."
– John F. Kennedy
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