This document provides a timeline of key events in the life of John F. Kennedy from 1917-1963. It outlines his early life and education, military service during WWII where he was a war hero, entry into politics as a Congressman and Senator, presidency and assassination. The timeline focuses on Kennedy's early life and political career leading up to his election as the 35th US President in 1960 at age 43. It then details major events and accomplishments of his brief presidency from 1961-1963 before concluding with details of his assassination in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963 at age 46.
2. • MAY 29, 1917: Born in Brookline, Mass.,
the son of Joe and Rose Kennedy
(Fitzgerald) and the great-grandson of
Irish immigrants.
• JUNE 1940: Graduates cum laude with a
bachelor of science degree from Harvard
University.
3. • JULY 1940: Kennedy's college thesis
"Appeasement in Munich," about Britain's
failure to prepare itself against Nazi
Germany, is published as a book titled
Why England Slept.
4. • SEPTEMBER 1941: At age 24, he is
sworn in as an ensign in the U.S. Navy.
• MARCH 1943: Given command of PT-109
as a lieutenant.
• AUG. 3, 1943: While on active duty in
Blackett Strait, North Solomon Islands in
the Pacific, PT-109 is sunk by the
Japanese. Kennedy performed heroically
in rescuing his crew.
5. JFK – The Politician
• NOV. 5, 1946: Elected as a U.S.
representative for the 11th Congressional
District in Boston at age 29. He is re-
elected in 1948 and 1950.
• NOV. 4, 1952: Elected as senator from
Massachusetts and re-elected in 1958.
6. • SEPT. 12, 1953: Marries Jacqueline Lee
Bouvier in Newport, R.I. She is the
daughter of John Vernon Bouvier III and
Janet Lee Bouvier.
7. • OCT. 21, 1954: Undergoes surgery for a
back injury he received during the PT-109
incident.
• FEBRUARY 1955: Undergoes a second
back operation during which he almost
dies. During his recovery, he writes
Profiles in Courage, which won a Pulitzer
Prize for biography in 1957.
8. • NOV. 27, 1957: Caroline Bouvier Kennedy
is born at Cornell Medical Center, New
York.
9. • JULY 13, 1960: Receives the Democratic
nomination for president.
• NOV. 8,1960: Defeats Richard M. Nixon to
become the 35th president of the United
States. Kennedy wins by a margin of 2/10
of 1 percent with 49.75 percent of the
votes. Nixon receives 49.55 percent.
10. • NOV. 25, 1960: John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Jr. is born at Georgetown University
Hospital.
11. • JAN. 20, 1961: At age 43, takes the oath of office to
become the 35th president of the United States. He is
the youngest elected president and the first president to
be Roman Catholic. In his inaugural speech, Kennedy
speaks these words: "And so, my fellow Americans ...
ask not what your country can do for you ... ask what you
can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world ...
ask not what America will do for you, but what together
we can do for the freedom of man."
• MARCH 1, 1961: Signs a bill creating the Peace Corps.
12. • APRIL 17, 1961: The Bay of Pigs invasion
of Cuba. Kennedy supports the invasion to
oust that country's Communist leader,
Fidel Castro, but the invasion fails.
Kennedy is heavily criticized.
• Invasion planned by Eisenhower and
Nixon!!!
13. • JUNE 3-4, 1961: Meets with Nikita Khrushchev
in Vienna on international issues. The focus of
the meeting is disarmament, Germany, Laos
and nuclear testing. They fail to agree on certain
problems but issue a joint statement that they
agree to "maintain contact on all questions of
interest to the two countries and for the whole
world." After this meeting, the Soviets build a
wall between East and West Berlin during the
summer.
14. • OCT. 16-28, 1962: U.S. intelligence
discovers that the Russians are building
missile sites in Cuba, thus beginning the
Cuban Missile Crisis. Kennedy orders a
naval and air quarantine on all shipments
of weapons to Cuba. Armed conflict
seems imminent; however, the Soviets
retreat and promise not to set up the
missiles. The United States agrees not to
attack Cuba.
15. The Assassination of John F.
Kennedy
NOV. 21, 1963 (THURSDAY): Kennedy
begins his tour of Texas. One of the cities
on the tour is Dallas.
16. NOV. 22, 1963 (FRIDAY): John Fitzgerald
Kennedy is shot at 12:30 p.m. He is
pronounced dead at 1 p.m. at Parkland
Memorial Hospital.
Note: The assassination is filmed by
Abraham Zapruder (the Zapruder film)
17. Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in as
President of the United States
- Texas
- LBJ and JFK not
great friends
- Texans did not
like Kennedy
- LBJ took the oath
of office on
Air Force One
18. Lee Harvey Oswald is Arrested
- Former Marine
- Lived in USSR
- Married to a Russian
- Supported Castro
- Worked at the TSBD
- Owned the gun found
at the TSBD
- Oswald claims he is innocent
19. NOV. 24, 1963 (SUNDAY): Jack Ruby
fatally shoots Lee Harvey Oswald.
- Ruby is a Dallas night club owner
-Ruby is connected to the mafia
23. Possible Answers to #2:
1. Lee Harvey Oswald
2. Cuba/Castro
3. Soviet Union/Khrushchev
4. CIA – Bay of Pigs
5. FBI – Bay of Pigs
6. U.S. Military Leaders – Missile Crisis
7. The Mafia – Cuba Connections - gambling
8. Texas Businessmen – Cuba – cattle/sugarcane
9. LBJ – wanted to be President?
10. Jackie – Marilyn Monroe
11. JFK – “Blaze of Glory”
24. The Government Investigation
• NOV. 29, 1963: President Lyndon B.
Johnson appoints the Warren Commission
to investigate the assassination.
25. And…
- The Warren Commission
concludes – after investigating
all of the possibilities that we
listed plus a few others that…
27. The Legacy of John F. Kennedy
- What did John F. Kennedy accomplish in
his short presidency?
- What impact does his presidency still have
today?
- On Monday, using the CFF laptops we will
investigate these questions!
29. The JFK Legacy
- The Space Program – man on the
moon/Cape Canaveral becomes Cape
Kennedy
- Civil Rights Movement Support
- Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
- Continued Involvement in Vietnam
30. • SEPT. 12, 1962: Delivers a speech at
Rice University, pledging that the United
States will put a man on the moon "before
the end of this decade." Seven years later,
on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong walks on
the moon.
• This is a direct result of the Russians
“beating” the US in the space race –
Sputnik – 1957 – math/science classes!
31. • NOV. 16, 1963 (SATURDAY): Visits Cape
Canaveral. Ten days after his visit, the
cape was renamed Cape Kennedy. Today
it is known as the Kennedy Space Center
at Cape Canaveral.
32. • JUNE 11, 1963: Sends the Alabama
National Guard to the University of
Alabama to protect two African-American
students who won a court order to attend
the college. Kennedy speaks on television
later in the day and expresses his support
for the civil rights movement.
33. • OCT. 7, 1963: Signs the Nuclear Test Ban
Treaty in Washington, D.C.: "with our
courage and understanding enlarged by
this achievement, let us press onward in
quest of man's essential desire for peace.“
• United States/USSR/Great Britain sign
• No test detonations above ground
• Designed to slow the arms race/Cold War
