John F. Kennedy assassination, 1963 November 23 - December 14

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, on May 29, 1917. He was the second oldest of nine children from the prominent Kennedy family and went by the nickname "Jack." Kennedy graduated from Harvard College in June 1940 then enlisted in the Navy during World War II. He was named Lieutenant and assigned to the boat, PT-109, in the South Pacific where on August 3, 1943, he saved his surviving crew after a Japanese warship destroyed the vessel. Kennedy and his crew were found by native islanders six days later and rescued the next day.

Following his return to Massachusetts, Kennedy was encouraged by his father to run for Congress. He successfully ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1946 and became a U.S. Senator in 1952. After almost being picked for Vice President in 1957, he decided to run for president in 1960. Kennedy was elected the 35th and youngest President of the United States in November 1960 and inaugurated on January 20, 1961 in Washington, DC. While in office, Kennedy expanded the space program and established the Peace Corps. He also faced foreign affairs issues in Cuba and racial discrimination in the United States. Kennedy was at the start of a reelection bid when he was assassinated in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963. Historical information adapted from http://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/life-of-john-f-kennedy (accessed December 2018)