John F Kennedy Biography

Maria Shriver is the niece of this beloved former president, so find out more about JFK in this John F. Kennedy biography. Born to lead, not to mention young and handsome, John F. Kennedy was groomed for greatness almost from birth. Read this biography to get to know the man who was John Fitzgerald Kennedy. 

1. JFK was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, May 1917, the second of nine siblings. The Kennedys raised their children to be intellectually and physically dominant (they probably never heard "let your baby brother/sister win" to make him/her feel good). Nope, the Kennedy children had to hold their own. The Kennedys were and still are multi-millionaires, Roman Catholics and members of the Democratic Party. John attended Harvard University and in 1938 was a secretary for his father, Joseph, then, US Ambassador to Great Britain. Kennedy's experience would be the basis of his thesis, which he expanded into a best-selling book in 1940 entitled "Why England Slept."
2. John F. Kennedy shows courage during his years in the military. JFK joined the Navy in 1941 and within two years he was sent to a war zone in the South Pacific as the commander of a PT Boat. Kennedy almost lost his life in battle, but managed to lead his crew back to safety; for this he was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medals of Courage. Kennedy wanted to return to combat after his battle wounds healed but was plagued by too much pain.
3. John F. Kennedy had heart, so he took his fight to politics where he never lost an election. In 1946 at the age of 29, Kennedy kicked backside to win a Democratic seat in Congress, where he served three terms and fought for those who had no voice. He called for higher wages, lower prices, more Social Security and Public Housing for those who were working towards the "American Dream." In 1952 JFK became a US senator and in 1953 he married Jacqueline Lee Bovier, aka Jacqueline Kennedy Onasis. 
4. Kennedy, the Roman Catholic senator, had his sites set on the presidency. In those days, if you were Roman Catholic, you could forget about ever sitting in the Oval Office as commander in chief. John F. Kennedy didn't care about so-called handicaps and announced his presidential candidacy in January 1960. Once again, JFK kicked backside in the primaries and chose Lyndon B. Johnson as his running mate.
5. JFK wins the presidential election to become the youngest man and first Roman Catholic in history to do so. During John F. Kennedy's inaugural address he vowed to fight with his fellow countrymen and the world to end poverty, tyranny, disease and war. While in office, Kennedy worked on America's image to the world, which became a challange in 1962 when had to prevent nuclear war with Russia (during the Cuban missile crisis). But Kennedy kept America from looking like suckers as well as heartless murderers. Kennedy was also committed to America landing a man on the moon before the end of the 1960s although he didn't get the chance to see it). On Friday, November 1963, most of America lost this hero to two bullets from a lone assassin's rifle as he rode in a motorcade through the streets of downtown Dallas, Texas.