John F. Kennedy

May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963

35th President who navigated the Cuban Missile Crisis and championed the Space Race.

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John F. Kennedy, often called "JFK," was the 35th President of the United States and, at 43, one of the youngest ever elected. His brief presidency, cut short by an assassin's bullet, spanned some of the most dangerous moments of the Cold War and some of the most hopeful, from the edge of nuclear war to the promise of the Moon. His youth, wit, and idealism made him a symbol of a new generation. ## A competitive family Born on May 29, 1917, into a wealthy and fiercely ambitious Massachusetts family, Kennedy was pushed to excel. During World War II he commanded a small patrol boat, PT-109, in the Pacific; when a Japanese destroyer sliced it in half, Lieutenant Kennedy swam for hours towing an injured crewman by a life-jacket strap in his teeth, and was decorated as a war hero. He later won a Pulitzer Prize for his book Profiles in Courage. ## The youngest elected president In 1960, Kennedy narrowly defeated Richard Nixon in an election shaped by the first-ever televised presidential debates, where his calm, telegenic style helped him win. In his inaugural address he issued a famous challenge: "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." He launched the Peace Corps, sending young Americans to volunteer abroad. ## Thirteen days from catastrophe Kennedy's presidency was dominated by the Cold War. An early attempt to overthrow Cuba's communist government, the Bay of Pigs, ended in embarrassing failure. Then, in October 1962, came the most dangerous crisis of the nuclear age: the Cuban Missile Crisis. For thirteen tense days, after U.S. spy planes spotted Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba, the world stood on the brink of nuclear war. Kennedy resisted advisers pushing for an invasion and instead ordered a naval blockade, giving the Soviets room to back down. They did, and the missiles were removed. It remains a landmark study in cool decision-making under unimaginable pressure. ## "We choose to go to the Moon" Stung by Soviet successes in space, Kennedy set the nation an audacious goal in 1961: to land a man on the Moon and return him safely before the decade's end. In a 1962 speech he framed it as a test of national will, "not because they are easy, but because they are hard." He did not live to see it, but his challenge was fulfilled with the Apollo 11 Moon landing in 1969. ## Civil rights Cautious at first, Kennedy grew bolder on civil rights as the movement, and televised violence against peaceful protesters, forced the issue. In 1963, the year of the March on Washington, he delivered a landmark address calling civil rights "a moral issue" and proposed the sweeping legislation that, after his death, became the Civil Rights Act of 1964. ## Dallas On November 22, 1963, while riding in an open car through Dallas, Texas, Kennedy was assassinated. The nation, and much of the world, was plunged into shock and grief; the moment is often remembered as the day America "lost its innocence." His unfinished presidency became a symbol of hope and possibility, sometimes called "Camelot." ## Learn more Explore his life through the Miller Center presidential biography, HISTORY's JFK profile, or the Wikipedia biography.

John F. Kennedy

Further reading