John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963)
35th President of the United States - January 20, 1961 – November 22, 1963
John F. Kennedy was a WWII war hero and US Senator who won the 1960 presidential election against Richard Nixon.
He was born in Brookline Massachusetts on May 29, 1917, graduated from Harvard in 1940 and entered the Navy. He heroically led 11 crewmembers to safety in 1943 when PT boat 109 was rammed and sunk during WWII.
He was elected to the US Senate in 1953 and married Jacqueline Bouvier that same year. He received the Pulitzer Prize in history for his book Profiles in Courage in 1955. At his 1961 inauguration he famously asked: "Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country."
Economic policies during his short tenure launched the longest sustained economic expansion since WWII. He also laid out plans for social programs, aiming to enact civil legislation and target poverty. He also instituted the Peace Corps.
During this time, tensions with the Soviet Union and Cuba mounted. This included the Cuban Missile Crisis and a failed coup of Fidel Castro. During this time the Berlin Wall was built. The US/Soviet Space Race was intensified as Kennedy promised to land the first man on the moon.
President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, TX on November 22, 1963. This was a defining moment for television and a major societal landmark. He was the youngest US President elected to office, the youngest to die in office, and the first Roman Catholic to hold the office.
International Star Registry was asked to name a star for the John F Kennedy Space Center in 1996.
NASA John F Kennedy Space Center
Ursa Minor RA 14h 14m 0.00s D 77° 12' 0.00"
May 29, 1996