John F Kennedy Biography
John F Kennedy was born on May 29, 1917 to Joseph Patrick Kennedy and Rose Fitzgerald in Brookline, Massachusetts. His grandfathers were important figures in the local political scene. John's father was a very successful business, who also served as the ambassador to Great Britain from 1937 to 1940. |
John graduated from Harvard University with a degree in science in 1940. Then in 1941, he joined the US Navy as an intelligence officer. During the Second World War, Kennedy was transferred the Motor Boat Torpedo Squadron, and here he was given command of a PT boat.
In 1943, his boat was by a Japanese destroyer resulting in Kennedy sustaining a rather bad back injury. Therefore, he was sent back to the US. After his recovery, he was promoted to a lieutenant, and ended up becoming a PT instructor in Florida. In 1945, he left the Navy and worked for the next 12 months as a journalist.
In 1946, Kennedy was elected to the House of Representatives, and he spent the next 2 years establishing himself as an ardent supporter of Harry S. Truman. While in Congress, he promoted progressive taxation, expansion of the social welfare schemes, and additional low cost public housing. He was also against the Taft-Hartley Bill.
Kennedy was also very interested in foreign policy, and toured Europe, the Middle East and Asia in 1951. In 1952, Kennedy was elected to the Senate. In 1953, he married Jacqueline Bouvier, who was the daughter of a financier from New York City. They had 2 children, Caroline and John.
In October 1954 and February 1955, Kennedy had surgery on his back as the back injury he sustained during the World War was still troubling him. While he was recovering from the surgery, he wrote the book Profiles in Courage, which ended up winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1956.
In 1960, he decided to run for President. He selected Lyndon B Johnson as his running mate. He defeated Richard M. Nixon to become the first Roman Catholic president of the United States.
As the President, he concentrated a lot on Soviet Union and its increasing power around the globe. This is what led US involvement in Vietnam and Cuba.
One November 22, 1963, Kennedy was assassinated during a political visit to Dallas, Texas.
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