John F Kennedy

John F Kennedy [John F Kennedy]

(John Fitzgerald Kennedy 1917-63) the 35th US ↑President (1961–3). He was the country’s youngest president and the first ↑Roman Catholic ever to be elected. He was also known informally as Jack Kennedy and JFK. His wife was Jackie ↑Kennedy. He won a medal for courage during ↑World War II, and was elected to the US House of Representatives (1947–53) and then to the US Senate (1952–60). Kennedy’s greatest success as President was in dealing with the ↑Cuban missile crisis and his worst failure was over the ↑Bay of Pigs incident. He worked with his brother, US Attorney General Robert ↑Kennedy, to support the ↑civil rights movement. He was murdered in ↑Dallas, probably by Lee Harvey Oswald, in one of the most shocking events in US history. Some people believe that others were responsible for his murder, but nothing has ever been definitely proved. Kennedy’s book, Profiles in Courage (1956), won a Pulitzer Prize. See also Warren ¹ And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country. John F Kennedy