Kennedy’s Profile
Minutes before JFK was assassinated
The assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963 was one of the most shocking public events of the 20th century. Kennedy served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, commanding the patrol boat PT-109 and leading his crew to rescue after the boat was sunk by the Japanese . A Democrat, “JFK” was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts’ 11th district in 1946. In 1952 he moved to the U.S. Senate, defeating Henry Cabot Lodge. He married Jacqueline Bouvier on 12 September 1953; they had two children, Caroline (b. 1957) and John Jr. (b. 1960). (A third child, Patrick, was born on 7 August 1963 and died two days later.) JFK was elected in 1960, after narrowly defeating Richard Nixon, and swept into office with a reputation for youthful charm, impatience, wit and vigor. Kennedy’s term was sometimes called the New Frontier, a phrase he coined in his acceptance speech at the 1960 Democratic convention. Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald during an open-car motorcade in Dallas, Texas on 22 November 1963. He was succeeded by Lyndon B. Johnson.