Home About us Products Services Contact us Bookmark
:: wikimiki.org ::
Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr.

Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr.

Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. (July 28, 1915–August 12, 1944) was the oldest of the nine children born to Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. and his wife, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. Older brother of future President John F. Kennedy, he was expected to bear the family's political hopes. Joseph, Jr. entered Harvard University in 1934 and graduated in 1938. There he played football, rugby, and was on the Harvard Row team, with captain John Arthur Garber Sr., and served on the student council. He spent a year studying under the tutelage of Harold Laski at the London School of Economics, before enrolling in Harvard Law School. He left Harvard Law before his final year to volunteer as a United States Navy flier. He earned his wings in May 1942 and was sent to England in September 1943. He piloted the PB4Y Liberator on anti-submarine and other missions on two tours of duty throughout the winter of 1943-44. In July 1944, he volunteered for a special mission piloting a modified version of the PB4Y Liberator intended to counter the German V-2 rocket attacks on England. The plane was to be loaded with 21,170 pounds (9600 kg) of high explosives, flown across the English Channel, where the pilot and co-pilot would parachute out, and then crash into a German V-2 base. The final crash was to be guided remotely by an escort fighter through radio-control. The pilot and co-pilot were to be recovered by ships in the Channel. Before Kennedy jumped, the plane was engulfed in a massive explosion. Kennedy's body was never recovered, and he was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross. In 1946, the Navy named a destroyer for him, the USS Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. (DD-850). Among the highlights of its service include the blockade of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis and the afloat recovery teams for Gemini 6 and Gemini 7. It is now a floating museum in Battleship Cove, Fall River, Massachusetts. Kennedy never married but romantically was linked to at least two women: Edith Bouvier Beale, the beautiful cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and Katharine Mortimer, a New York socialite who declined to become more seriously involved with Joe Jr. because, she claimed, his family was too loud to consider marrying into.

See also


- Kennedy Curse Kennedy, Joseph P. II Kennedy, Joseph P. II Kennedy, Joseph P. II Kennedy, Joseph P. II Kennedy, Joseph P. II Kennedy, Joseph P. II Kennedy, Joseph P. II Kennedy, Joseph P. II Kennedy, Joseph P. II Kennedy, Joseph P. II

July 28

July 28 is the 209th day (210th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 156 days remaining.

Events


- 1493 - Great fire in Moscow
- 1540 - Thomas Cromwell, is executed on order from Henry VIII of England on charges of treason. Henry marries his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, on the same day.
- 1794 - Maximilien Robespierre is guillotined in front of a cheering crowd, for sending thousands of others to a similar fate during the French Revolution.
- 1821 - Peru declares independence from Spain.
- 1864 - American Civil War: Battle of Ezra Church begins - Confederate troops make a third unsuccessful attempt to drive Union forces from Atlanta, Georgia.
- 1866 - The Metric Act of 1866 becomes law and legalizes the standardization of weights and measures in the United States.
- 1868 - The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution is adopted guaranteeing African Americans full citizenship and all persons in the United States due process of law.
- 1873 - The Japanese government implements land and tax reform as part of the Meiji Restoration reforms.
- 1878 - Great Britain's William Gowland becomes the first non-Japanese to reach Yarigatake peak (3,180 meters), and he names the mountain the Japanese Alps, a name that is eventually used to refer to the entire mountain range.
- 1914 - World War I begins: Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia after it failed to meet the conditions of an ultimatum it set on July 23 following the killing of Archduke Francis Ferdinand by a Serbian assassin. This event leads to the outbreak of war.
- 1932 - US President Herbert Hoover orders the United States Army to forcibly evict the "Bonus Army" of World War I veterans gathered in Washington, DC.
- 1942 - World War II: USSR leader Joseph Stalin issues Order No. 227 in response to alarming German advances into Russia. Under the order all those who retreat or otherwise leave their positions without orders to do so will be immediately killed.
- 1943 - World War II: Operation Gomorrah - The British bomb Hamburg causing a firestorm that kills 42,000 German civilians.
- 1945 - A US Army bomber accidentally crashes into the 79th floor of the Empire State Building killing 14 injuring 26.
- 1965 - Vietnam War: US President Lyndon B. Johnson announces his order to increase the number of United States troops in South Vietnam from 75,000 to 125,000.
- 1973 - Watkins Glen, New York concert attended by 600,000 to see The Band, The Allman Brothers Band, and the Grateful Dead.
- 1976 - The Tangshan earthquake measuring between 7.8 and 8.2 magnitude flattens Tangshan, China, killing 242,769 and injuring 164,851.
- 1990 - Alberto Fujimori becomes president of Peru
- 1992 - Mary J. Blige releases her album What's the 411?. It is considered the album that started the new subgenre, hip-hop soul (also see 1992 in music).
- 1995 - Network Solutions announces a new policy to help companies protect their trademarks on the Internet.
- 1996 - Kennewick Man, the remains of a prehistoric man, was discovered near Kennewick, Washington.
- 1997 - Guatemala becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.
- 1998 - Monica Lewinsky scandal: Ex-White House intern, Monica Lewinsky receives transactional immunity in exchange for her grand jury testimony concerning her relationship with US President Bill Clinton.
- 2002 - Nine coal miners trapped in the flooded Quecreek Mine in Somerset, Pennsylvania, were rescued after 77 hours underground.
- 2003 - NPR broadcasts the first episode of Day to Day, a one-hour radio newsmagazine
- 2005 - Larry Brown is introduced as the head coach of the New York Knicks NBA franchise, at a press conference in Madison Square Garden.

Births


- 1659 - Charles Ancillon, French Huguenot pastor (d. 1715)
- 1804 - Ludwig Feuerbach, German philosopher (d. 1872)
- 1844 - Gerard Manley Hopkins, English poet (d. 1889)
- 1866 - Beatrix Potter, English author (d. 1943)
- 1867 - Charles Dillon Perrine, American-born astronomer (d. 1951)
- 1872 - Albert Sarraut, French politician (d. 1962)
- 1874 - Ernst Cassirer, German philosopher (d. 1945)
- 1887 - Marcel Duchamp, French painter (d. 1968)
- 1896 - Barbara La Marr, American actress (d. 1926)
- 1901 - Rudy Vallee, American singer, actor, bandleader, and entertainer (d. 1986)
- 1902 - Karl Popper, Austrian-born philosopher of science (d. 1994)
- 1904 - Pavel Alekseyevich Cherenkov, Russian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1990)
- 1907 - Earl Tupper, American inventor (d. 1983)
- 1909 - Malcolm Lowry, English novelist (d. 1957)
- 1914 - Carmen Dragon, composer (d. 1984)
- 1915 - Charles Townes, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1915 - Frankie Yankovic, American musician (d. 1998)
- 1916 - David Brown, American film producer
- 1922 - Jacques Piccard, Belgian-born undersea explorer
- 1925 - Baruch S. Blumberg, American scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- 1927 - John Ashbery, American poet
- 1929 - Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, First Lady of the United States (d. 1994)
- 1934 - Jacques d'Amboise, American dancer and choreographer
- 1935 - Simon Dee, British television broadcaster
- 1936 - Garfield Sobers, West Indian cricketer
- 1938 - Alberto Fujimori, President of Peru
- 1940 - Philip Proctor, American comedian
- 1941 - Riccardo Muti, Italian conductor
- 1943 - Bill Bradley, basketball player and U.S. Senator
- 1945 - Jim Davis, American cartoonist
- 1945 - Richard Wright English keyboard player (Pink Floyd)
- 1948 - Sally Struthers, American actress
- 1949 - Steve Peregrin Took, English singer and songwriter (d. 1980)
- 1951 - Santiago Calatrava, Spanish architect
- 1952 - Yoshitaka Amano, Japanese artist
- 1952 - Vajiralongkorn, Crown Prince of Thailand
- 1954 - Steve Morse, American guitarist
- 1954 - Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela
- 1958 - Terry Fox, Canadian athlete and cancer activist (d. 1981)
- 1962 - Rachel Sweet, American singer
- 1965 - Lori Loughlin, American actress
- 1972 - Elizabeth Berkley, American actress
- 1976 - Jacoby Shaddix, American singer (Papa Roach)
- 1977 - Tiago Andres Vaz, Brazilian composer
- 1977 - Emanuel Ginóbili, Argentine basketball player
- 1979 - Birgitta Haukdal, Icelandic singer

Deaths


- 450 - Theodosius II, Roman Emperor (b. 401)
- 1057 - Pope Victor II
- 1128 - William Clito, Count of Flanders (b. 1102)
- 1230 - Duke Leopold VI of Austria (b. 1176)
- 1527 - Rodrigo de Bastidas, Spanish conquistador
- 1540 - Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Essex, English statesman
- 1631 - Guillén de Castro y Bellvis, Spanish dramatist (b. 1569)
- 1655 - Cyrano de Bergerac, French poet (b. 1619)
- 1667 - Abraham Cowley, English poet (b. 1618)
- 1675 - Bulstrode Whitelocke, English lawyer (b. 1605)
- 1685 - Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington, English statesman (b. 1618)
- 1718 - Etienne Baluze, French scholar (b. 1630)
- 1741 - Antonio Vivaldi, Italian composer (b. 1678)
- 1750 - Johann Sebastian Bach, German composer (b. 1685)
- 1762 - George Dodington, 1st Baron Melcombe, English politician (b. 1691)
- 1794 - Maximilien Robespierre, French Revolutionary leader (b. 1758)
- 1794 - Louis de Saint-Just, French Revolutionary leader (b. 1767)
- 1835 - Édouard Adolphe Casimir Joseph Mortier, French marshal (b. 1768)
- 1842 - Clemens Brentano, German poet (b. 1778)
- 1844 - Joseph Bonaparte, older brother of Napoleon I and King of Naples and Spain (b. 1768)
- 1849 - King Charles Albert of Sardinia (b. 1798)
- 1869 - Jan Evangelista Purkyně, Czech anatomist (b. 1787)
- 1930 - Allvar Gullstrand, Swedish ophthalmologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1862)
- 1934 - Marie Dressler, Canadian actress (b. 1868)
- 1942 - William Matthew Flinders Petrie, English Egyptologist (b. 1853)
- 1957 - Edith Abbott, American social worker, educator, and author (b. 1876)
- 1965 - Edogawa Ranpo, Japanese author (b. 1894)
- 1968 - Otto Hahn, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1879)
- 1971 - Myril Hoag, baseball player (b. 1908)
- 1972 - Helen Traubel, American soprano (b. 1903)
- 1982 - Keith Green, American gospel singer, songwriter, and pianist (b. 1953)
- 1996 - Marguerite "Marge" Ganser, American singer (Shangri-Las) (b. 1948)
- 1999 - Trygve Haavelmo, Norwegian economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911)
- 2002 - Archer John Porter Martin, English chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1910)
- 2003 - Lady Valerie Goulding, Irish Senator and campaigner for the disabled (b. 1918)
- 2004 - Francis Crick, English molecular biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1916)
- 2004 - Sam Edwards, American actor (b. 1915)
- 2004 - Tiziano Terzani, Italian journalist (b. 1938)

Holidays and observances


- Canada - Commemoration of the deportation of the Acadians
- Faroe Islands - Ólavsøka Eve
- Peru - Independence Day
- San Marino - Fall of the Fascist Government

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/28 BBC: On This Day] ---- July 27 - July 29 - June 28 - August 28 -- listing of all days ko:7월 28일 ms:28 Julai ja:7月28日 simple:July 28 th:28 กรกฎาคม

August 12

August 12 is the 224th day of the year (225th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 141 days remaining. It is also known as the "Glorious Twelfth" in the UK, as it marks the traditional start of the grouse shooting season.

Events


- 490 BC - the Battle of Marathon, in which Athens defeated an invasion army of Persians, may have been fought on this date in the proleptic Julian calendar - but see 12 September.
- 1099 - The First Crusade concluded with a decisive victory in the Battle of Ascalon over Fatimid forces under Al-Afdal Shahanshah.
- 1323 - Treaty of Nöteborg - Sweden and Novgorod (Russia) regulates the border for the first time
- 1332 - Battle of Dupplin Moor - Scots under the Earl of Mar routed by Edward Balliol
- 1676 - Praying Indian John Alderman shot and killed Metacomet the Wampanoag war chief, ending King Philip's War.
- 1851 - Isaac Singer granted a patent for his sewing machine
- 1854 - Count Gaston de Raousset Boulbon is executed by shooting, in regard to the Battle of Guaymas.
- 1877 - Asaph Hall discovers Deimos
- 1883 - The last quagga dies at the Artis Magistra zoo in Amsterdam
- 1898 - Armistice ends the Spanish-American War
- 1898 - The Hawaiian flag is lowered from Iolani Palace in an elaborate annexation ceremony and replaced with the American flag to signify the transfer of sovereignty from the Republic of Hawaii to the United States.
- 1908 - First Model T Ford built
- 1914 - World War I - Britain declares war on Austria-Hungary; British Empire countries automatically included.
- 1914 - World War I: Beginning of the Battle of Cer between Austria-Hungary and Serbia
- 1952 - The Night of the Murdered Poets - Prominent Jewish intellectuals were murdered in Moscow.
- 1953 - Nuclear testing: The Soviet atomic bomb project proceeded with the detonation of Joe 4, the first Soviet thermonuclear weapon.
- 1960 - Echo I, the first communications satellite, launched
- 1966 - Massacre of Braybrook Street as three policemen are shot dead in East Acton, London.
- 1966 - John Lennon apologizes at a Chicago news conference for saying the Beatles were "more popular than Jesus."
- 1978 - Japan and China sign the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between Japan and the People's Republic of China.
- 1981 - The IBM PC, an early personal computer, is introduced
- 1985 - Japan Airlines Flight 123, a Boeing 747 jumbo jet, crashes into Mount Ogura in Gunma Prefecture Japan killing 520 in the world's worst single-plane air disaster. Four people miraculously survive.
- 1990 - Sue, the most complete skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex, was discovered near Faith, South Dakota.
- 1992 - Canada, Mexico and the United States announce completion of negotiations for the North American Free Trade Agreement.
- 1994 - The Woodstock '94 rock concert takes place.
- 1994 - Major League Baseball players go on strike. The work stoppage will force the cancellation of the World Series.
- 2000 - The Oscar class submarine K-141 Kursk of the Russian Navy exploded and sank in the Barents Sea during a military exercise.
- 2004 - Sweden's nine millionth inhabitant is born.
- 2004 - Lee Hsien Loong is sworn in as Singapore's 3rd Prime Minister.
- 2005 - Sri Lanka's foreign minister, Lakshman Kadirgamar, is fatally shot by a sniper in his home.
- 2005 - An F2 rated tornado strikes the coal mining town of Wright, Wyoming, destroying nearly 100 homes and killing two people.
- 2005 - Civil unrest provoked in the Maldives

Births


- 1503 - Christian III of Denmark and Norway (d. 1559)
- 1566 - Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain (d. 1633)
- 1604 - Tokugawa Iemitsu, Japanese shogun (d. 1651)
- 1626 - Giovanni Legrenzi, Italian composer (d. 1690)
- 1629 - Tsar Alexei I of Russia (d. 1676)
- 1643 - King Afonso VI of Portugal (d. 1683)
- 1644 - Heinrich Ignaz Biber, Bohemian composer (d. 1704)
- 1647 - Johann Heinrich Acker, German writer (d. 1719)
- 1686 - John Balguy, English philosopher (d. 1748)
- 1696 - Maurice Greene, English composer (d. 1755)
- 1720 - Konrad Ekhof, German actor (d. 1778)
- 1774 - Robert Southey, English poet and biographer (d. 1843)
- 1831 - Helena Blavatsky, Ukrainian-born author (d. 1891)
- 1859 - Katharine Lee Bates, American poet (d. 1929)
- 1866 - Jacinto Benavente, Spanish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1954)
- 1867 - Edith Hamilton, German classicist (d. 1963)
- 1876 - Mary Roberts Rinehart, American author (d. 1958)
- 1880 - Radclyffe Hall, British author (d. 1943)
- 1880 - Christy Mathewson, baseball player (d. 1925)
- 1881 - Cecil B. DeMille, American director (d. 1959)
- 1883 - Pauline Frederick, American actress (d. 1938)
- 1887 - Erwin Schrödinger, Austrian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1961)
- 1892 - Alfred Lunt, American actor (d. 1977)
- 1904 - Alexei Nikolaevich Romanov, Tsarevich (d. 1918)
- 1906 - Pauline Frederick, American journalist (d. 1990)
- 1906 - Tedd Pierce, American animator (d. 1972)
- 1907 - Joe Besser, American actor and comedian (d. 1988)
- 1911 - Cantinflas, Mexican actor (d. 1993)
- 1911 - Jane Wyatt, American actress
- 1924 - Derek Shackleton, English cricketer
- 1924 - Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, leader of Pakistan (d. 1988)
- 1925 - Norris McWhirter, Scottish co-founder of the Guinness Book of Records (d. 2004)
- 1925 - Ross McWhirter, Scottish co-founder of the Guinness Book of Records (d. 1975)
- 1926 - John Derek, American actor (d. 1998)
- 1927 - Mstislav Rostropovich, Russian cellist and conductor
- 1927 - Porter Wagoner, American singer
- 1928 - Bob Buhl, baseball player (d. 2001)
- 1928 - Dan Curtis, film and television producer and director
- 1929 - Buck Owens, American singer
- 1930 - George Soros American businessman
- 1931 - William Goldman, American screenwriter
- 1932 - Somdej Phra Nangchao Sirikit Phra Boromarajininat HM Queen Sirikit of Thailand
- 1933 - Parnelli Jones, American race car driver
- 1939 - George Hamilton, American actor
- 1945 - Ann M. Martin, American author
- 1949 - Mark Knopfler, British guitarist
- 1951 - Willie Horton, American murderer and rapist
- 1954 - Pat Metheny, American guitarist
- 1962 - Miss Cleo, American psychic
- 1967 - Regilio Tuur, Dutch boxer
- 1971 - Michael Ian Black, American comedian
- 1971 - Pete Sampras, American tennis player
- 1972 - Rebecca Gayheart, American actress
- 1973 - Richard Reid, English terrorist
- 1974 - Matt Clement, baseball pitcher
- 1976 - Antoine Walker, American basketball player
- 1977 - Plaxico Burress, American football player
- 1980 - Dominique Swain, American actress
- 1980 - Matt Thiessen, Canadian-born singer (Reliant K)
- 1981 - Djibril Cisse, French footballer

Deaths


- 30 BC - Cleopatra (b. 30 BC)
- 875 - Louis II Holy Roman Emperor (b. 825)
- 1424 - Yongle, Emperor of China (b. 1460)
- 1484 - George of Trebizond, Greek philosopher (b. 1395)
- 1484 - Pope Sixtus IV (b. 1414)
- 1512 - Alessandro Achillini, Italian philosopher (b. 1463)
- 1577 - Thomas Smith, English diplomat and scholar (b. 1513)
- 1588 - Alfonso Ferrabosco (I), Italian composer (b. 1543)
- 1612 - Giovanni Gabrieli, Italian composer
- 1633 - Jacopo Peri, Italian composer (b. 1561)
- 1648 - Ibrahim I, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1615)
- 1674 - Philippe de Champaigne, French painter (b. 1602)
- 1689 - Pope Innocent XI (b. 1611)
- 1827 - William Blake, English poet and printmaker (b. 1757)
- 1778 - Peregrine Bertie, 3rd Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven, British general and politician (b. 1714)
- 1810 - Etienne Louis Geoffroy, French pharmacist and entomologist (b. 1725)
- 1848 - George Stephenson, British locomotive designer (b. 1781)
- 1864 - Sakuma Shōzan, Japanese reformer (b. 1811)
- 1865 - William Jackson Hooker, English botanist (b. 1785)
- 1891 - James Russell Lowell, American poet and essayist (b. 1819)
- 1900 - Wilhelm Steinitz, Austrian chess player (b. 1836)
- 1901 - Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld, Finnish-Swedish explorer (b. 1832)
- 1914 - John Philip Holland, Irish submarine designer (b. 1840)
- 1918 - Anna Held, Polish-born actress and singer (b. 1872)
- 1922 - Arthur Griffith, President of Ireland (b. 1871)
- 1928 - Leos Janacek, Czech composer (b. 1854)
- 1934 - Hendrik Petrus Berlage, Dutch architect (b. 1856)
- 1943 - Bobby Peel, English cricketer (b. 1857)
- 1948 - Harry Brearley, English inventor (b. 1871)
- 1955 - Thomas Mann, German writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1875)
- 1955 - James B. Sumner, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1887)
- 1964 - Ian Fleming, English novelist (b. 1908)
- 1973 - Walter Rudolf Hess, Swiss physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1881)
- 1979 - Ernst Boris Chain, German-born biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1906)
- 1982 - Henry Fonda, American actor (b. 1905)
- 1982 - Salvador Sanchez, Mexican boxer (b. 1959)
- 1982 - Varlam Shalamov, Russian writer (b. 1907)
- 1982 - Joe Tex, American singer (b. 1933)
- 1985 - Kyu Sakamoto, Japanese singer (plane crash) (b. 1941)
- 1985 - Manfred Winkelhock, German race car driver (b. 1951)
- 1989 - William Shockley, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1910)
- 1992 - John Cage, American composer (b. 1912)
- 1997 - Luther Allison, American musician (b. 1939)
- 2000 - Loretta Young, American actress (b. 1913)
- 2002 - Enos Slaughter, baseball player (b. 1916)
- 2004 - Sir Godfrey Hounsfield, English electrical engineer and inventor, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1919)
- 2004 - Peter Woodthorpe, British actor (b. 1931)

Holidays and observations


- United Nations - International Youth Day (since 1999)
- Glorious Twelfth at the Yorkshire Dales
- Zaraday (Discordianism)
- Zimbabwe - Defence Force Day
- International Ponce de Leon day

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/12 BBC: On This Day] ---- August 11 - August 13 - July 12 - September 12 -- listing of all days ko:8월 12일 ja:8月12日 simple:August 12 th:12 สิงหาคม

Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.

This article is about the politician, Joseph Kennedy, Sr.; For the baseball player, see Joe Kennedy. Larger Version Joseph "Joe" Patrick Kennedy, Sr. (September 6, 1888 – November 18, 1969) was a prominent United States businessman and political figure, the father of President John F. Kennedy and the patriarch of the Kennedy political family.

Background and early career

Joseph was born in Boston, the son of Patrick J. Kennedy, a successful businessman and Irish Catholic community leader. Kennedy was born into a highly sectarian environment where Irish Catholics saw themselves as the victims of Yankee exclusion. Many were active in the Democratic Party, including Patrick and numerous relatives. Patrick Kennedy's home was a prosperous and comfortable one, thanks to his successful liquor business and an influential role in local politics. At the city's most prestigious public high school, Boston Latin School, Joe was a below average scholar but was popular among his classmates, winning election as class president and playing on the school baseball team. Kennedy, like several older relatives, attended Harvard College where he focused on becoming a social leader, working energetically to gain admittance to the prestigious Hasty Pudding Club. After graduating from Harvard in 1912, his first job was a state-employed bank examiner. In that role, he learned that a certain bank was trying to take over the smaller Columbia Trust Bank, in which his father was a minority shareholder. Borrowing $45,000 he bought control and at age 25, he became the youngest bank president in the country. In 1912 he married Rose Fitzgerald, the daughter of John F. Fitzgerald, the Democrat mayor of Boston and probably the most recognized politician in the city. Kennedy emerged as a highly successful entrepreneur with an eye for value. For example he turned a handsome profit from ownership of Old Colony Realty Associates, Inc., which bought distressed real estate. During the World War he was supervisor of a major shipyard in Quincy, Massachusetts where he oversaw the production of transports and warships. The job brought him into contact with the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In the early 1920s, Joseph acquired two movie studios and personally produced several films, he then sold the companies to the Radio Corporation of America (RCA). He was romantically linked to Gloria Swanson during 1929 and 1930, during which time he poured large sums of money into Gloria Productions Limited, a film company which Swanson had just started.

Building tremendous wealth

Wall Street

In 1919, he joined the prominent stock brokerage firm of Hayden, Stone and Co. where he became an expert in dealing in the unregulated stock market of the day. In 1923 he set up his own investment company and became a multi-millionaire during the bull market of the 1920s. David Kennedy, author of "Freedom From Fear," describes the Wall Street of the Kennedy era: "(It) was a strikingly information-starved environment. Many firms whose securities were publicly traded published no regular reports or issued reports whose data were so arbitrarily selected and capriciously audited as to be worse than useless. It was this circumstance that had conferred such awesome power on a handful of investment bankers like J.P. Morgan, because they commanded a virtual monopoly of the information necessary for making sound financial decisions. Especially in the secondary markets, where reliable information was all but impossible for the average investor to come by, opportunities abounded for insider manipulation and wildcat speculation."

The Crash

Kennedy formed alliances with several other Irish-Catholic money men, including Charles E. Mitchell, Mike Meehan and Bernard Smith. He helped establish the Libby-Owens-Ford stock pool, an arrangement in which Kennedy and colleagues created an artificial scarcity of Libby-Owens-Ford stock to drive up the value of their own holdings in the stock. Using inside information, and the public's lack of knowledge, a pool operator would bribe journalists to present that information in the most advantageous manner. The stocks would then change in price up or down depending on the position favoured by the pool. This conduct is now illegal as both insider trading and market-manipulation. Some attribute these market manipulations as being in part responsible for the Stock Market Crash of 1929 which some say triggered the worldwide Great Depression. In any event, Kennedy got out of the market in 1928, long before the Crash locking in multi-million dollar profits. Indeed when the 1929 crash did come, he made money due to his short positions.

Liquor Importing, Movie Production, Property

During Prohibition, Kennedy's company Somerset Importers became the exclusive American agent for Gordon's Dry Gin and Dewar's Scotch which was only allowed to be imported during Prohibition for medicinal purposes. Anticipating the end of Prohibition (not difficult to do as it slowly passed through the required number of states) he assembled a very large inventory of stock that he sold for a profit of millions of dollars when Prohibition was repealed in 1933. He invested this money in residential and commercial real estate, the Merchandise Mart in Chicago and Hialeah Race Track in Hialeah, Florida. Kennedy made a huge amount from reorganizing and refinancing several Hollywood studios. Some speculated he enjoyed the industry because of the attractive women involved in it. Film production in the U.S. was a lot more decentralized than it is today, with many different movie studios producing film product. One small studio was FBO, the Film Booking Office of America, which specialized in Westerns produced cheaply. Its owner was in financial trouble and asked Kennedy to help find a new owner. Kennedy liked the business so much he formed his own group of investors to buy it for $1.5 million. He then moved to Hollywood in March 1926 to focus on running the studio. Movie studios were then permitted to own exhibition companies and often found it necessary to get their films on the big screen. With that in mind, in a hostile buyout he acquired the Keith-Albee-Orpheum Theaters Corporation (KAO) which had more than seven hundred vaudeville and movie theaters across the United States . He later acquired another production studio Pathe Exchange, owned by ther French giant, Pathé. In October 1928, he formally merged his film companies FBO and KAO to form Radio-Keith-Orpheum and made a large amount of money in the process. Kennedy knew how to play hardball. Keen to buy Pantages Theater chain which had sixty-three stong performer theaters, Kennedy made an offer of $8 million. It was declined. Joe then stopped distributing his movies to Pantages. Still Alexander Pantages declined to sell. When Pantages was charged and tried with rape though, his reputation took a battering and he accepted Kennedy's revised offer of $3.5 million. It is estimated that Kennedy made over $5 million from his investments in Hollywood.

Public service

Joseph's first active involvement in a national political campaign occurred during Franklin D. Roosevelt's bid for the Presidency. He donated, loaned, and raised a substantial amount of money for FDR's presidential campaign. President Roosevelt rewarded him, with an appointment as the inaugural Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Even Joseph's critics acknowledge the reforming work he performed as SEC Chairman. His knowledge of the financial markets equipped him to identify areas requiring the attention of regulators. One of the crucial reforms was the requirement for companies to regularly lodge financial statements with the SEC which broke what some saw as an information monopoly maintained by the Morgan banking family. After serving in this post for several years, he resigned in 1935. President Roosevelt then asked him to chair the Maritime Commission. During the Spanish Civil War Kennedy's helped persuade President Roosevelt to stay out of the conflict arguing that the American Catholic community sympathized with the forces of Francisco Franco. Kennedy's opponents claim he circulated fabricated charges of atrocities against the Church in Spain on the part of the Spanish loyalists.

Appeasement

In 1938, he was appointed as the United States Ambassador to the Court of St. James's (United Kingdom). Kennedy, of Irish descent, hugely enjoyed his leadership position in London society, which stood in stark contrast to his outsider status in Boston. He rejected the warnings by Winston Churchill that Nazi Germany posed a looming threat, and supported Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's policy of appeasement in order to stave off a second world war that would be more horrible than the first. He resigned from office in 1940 after being recalled as he publicly disagreed with Roosevelt's policy of indecision, prior to the Attack on Pearl Harbor, on involving the USA in the Second World War. Regardless, Kennedy was active in rallying Irish Democrats to Roosevelt's reelection. While his own ambitions for the White House seemed impossible to realize, he held out great hope for his eldest son Joseph Jr. to gain the presidency. However, Joe Jr. was killed undertaking a high-risk bombing raid over Germany. Kennedy then turned his attention to grooming the second son, John F. Kennedy. Indeed he won in the 1960 elections. Joe Kennedy was always a controversial figure among Democrats because of his opposition to Roosevelt but support for Joseph McCarthy. Therefore he operated in the background. He did play a vital role in fundraising and in managing parts of the campaign, such as the West Virginia primary.

Stroke and retirement

On December 19, 1961, Kennedy suffered a disabling stroke which made movement and communication extremely difficult and limited until his death. JFK's assassination in 1963 made Kennedy reluctant to support his other son Robert F. Kennedy's bid to become the Democratic nominee for the presidency in the 1968 elections. His fears came to pass when Sirhan Sirhan assassinated Robert in 1968 while on the campaign trail. Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. died on November 18, 1969. Joseph Kennedy expanded the Kennedy Compound, which continues as a major center of family get-togethers.

See also


- Kennedy family
- List of descendants of Joseph P. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy
- Kennedy Curse
- List of well-known U.S. presidential relatives

Further reading


- Amanda Smith, ed. Hostage to Fortune: The Letters of Joseph P. Kennedy (2002)
- Doris Kearns Goodwin, The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys: An American Saga (1987)
- Thomas Maier, The Kennedys: America's Emerald Kings (2003)
- Kessler, Ronald, The Sins of the Father: Joseph P. Kennedy and the Dynasty He Founded, Warner , 1996, ISBN 0446603848
- Ted Schwarz, "Joseph P. Kennedy" 2003, ISBN 0-471-17681-8

External links


- [http://www.ytedk.com/jfk.htm Joe Kennedy's Political Influence]
- [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/kennedys/peopleevents/p_joe.html The Kennedys - PBS Special]
- [http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/may2003/nf20030529_7026.htm Kennedy's Legacy at the SEC] Kennedy, Joseph P., Sr. Kennedy, Joseph P., Sr. Kennedy, Joseph P. I Kennedy, Joseph P., Sr. Kennedy, Joseph P., Sr. Kennedy, Joseph P., Sr. Kennedy, Joseph P. I Kennedy, Joseph P., Kennedy, Joseph P., Sr. Kennedy, Joseph P., Sr.

Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy

Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy (July 22, 1890 – January 22, 1995) married into the Kennedy family and became its matriarch in the second half of the 20th century, when its members helped shape American politics. American She was born Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald in the North End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, and died at the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. She was the eldest child of John "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald, a prominent figure in Boston politics who served one term as a member of Congress and later became the city's mayor. The family lived for a time at 39 Welles Avenue, in the Ashmont Hill section of Dorchester, Massachusetts while she attended the local Girl's Latin School. The Victorian, mansard-style home, largest on the street, later burned down. A marker is there, at Welles Avenue and Harley Street, naming it "Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Square". The placement was celebrated by her son, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, in 1992, on Rose's 102nd birthday. She graduated from Dorchester High School in 1906, then attended school at the Manhattanville College for the Sacred Heart (as it was known at that time), as she was prohibited from attending the secular Wellesley College that she wished to attend, and became her father's travelling companion, visiting many countries in Europe in 1908, and also the newly built Panama Canal. She married Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. on October 7, 1914, after a courtship of more than 7 years, and they lived in nearby Brookline, in a house that is now a national historic landmark. She bore him 9 children, 4 of whom predeceased their parents. At her death from complications of pneumonia at the age of 104 in 1995, Rose Kennedy was the longest-lived Presidential parent (and/or relative) in history. She was well-known for her philanthropic efforts, as well as leading the Grandparents' Parade at age 90 at the Special Olympics. Her life and work with the Special Olympics are documented in the Oscar-nominated short documentary Rose Kennedy: A Life to Remember.

Children


- Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr.
- John F. Kennedy
- Rosemary Kennedy
- Kathleen Kennedy
- Eunice Kennedy
- Patricia Kennedy
- Robert F. Kennedy
- Jean Kennedy
- Edward M. Kennedy

Joseph and Rose Kennedy's children today

As of January, 2005, four of Joseph and Rose Kennedy's nine children are still living. They have grown particularly close as the years have passed. Rose Marie Kennedy, the third child born in the immediate Kennedy family, underwent a lobotomy in 1941 at age 23 after Joe Kennedy was informed that his daughter's mild mental complications could be cured by such an operation. However, the lobotomy resulted in profound mental retardation. Rosemary Kennedy lived an isolated life at a Wisconsin institution beginning in 1949. Due to the severity of her mental condition, Rosemary became largely detached from the Kennedy clan. However, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the founder of the Special Olympics and an advocate for the disabled on Rosemary's behalf, began involving her in family life later on. On January 7, 2005, Rosemary Kennedy died at the age of 86, at the institution where she had spent the last fifty-five years. Hers was the first, and, currently, only, natural death among the children of Joe and Rose Kennedy. A true testament to the merging of the Kennedy siblings, at her side upon her death were her surviving sisters and Senator Ted Kennedy.

Miscellaneous

The Rose Kennedy Greenway in Boston, Massachusetts is named for her. The Rose Kennedy Cocktail is a popular drink in bars in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States.

External links


- [http://www.nps.gov/jofi/index.htm National Historical site, Rose's home in Brookline.]
- [http://www.bwht.org/northend2.html Boston Women's Historic Trail] Kennedy, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, Rose Kennedy, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, Rose Fitzgerald

John F. Kennedy

For other uses, see JFK (disambiguation) or John Kennedy (disambiguation). John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917–November 22, 1963), often referred to as John F Kennedy, JFK, or Jack Kennedy, was the 35th President of the United States. He served from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. A member of the prominent Kennedy political family, he is considered an icon of American liberalism. Kennedy is the youngest person ever to have been elected president of the country, at the age of 43. (Theodore Roosevelt was the youngest ever to serve as President of the country.) Major events during his presidency included the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the building of the Berlin Wall, the Space Race, early events of the Vietnam War, and the American Civil Rights Movement. In rankings of U.S. presidents, historians usually grade Kennedy above average, but among the general public he is often regarded as among the greatest presidents. Kennedy is also the only Roman Catholic ever to become President, the first president to serve who was born in the 20th century, the last to die while still in office, the last Democrat from the North to be elected, and the last to be elected while serving in the U.S. Senate. Kennedy died the youngest of any U.S. president, at 46 years and 177 days, when he was assassinated on November 22, 1963. The assassination is often considered a defining moment in U.S. history both because of its traumatic impact on the entire nation, and because of Kennedy's elevation as an icon for a new generation of Americans and American aspirations.

Early life and Education

Kennedy was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, the son of Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald. Years later, it would be revealed that Kennedy had been diagnosed as a young man with Addison's Disease, a rare endocrine disorder. This and other medical disorders were kept from the press and the public throughout Kennedy's life. Kennedy attended The Choate School in Connecticut, one of the country's most elite, and he graduated in 1935. Before enrolling in college, he attended the London School of Economics for a year, where he studied political economy under the tutelage of Professor Harold Laski. In the fall of 1935, he enrolled in Princeton University, but was forced to leave after contracting jaundice. The next fall, he began attending Harvard College. Kennedy traveled to Europe twice during his years at Harvard, visiting the United Kingdom, while his father was serving as Ambassador to the Court of St. James's. In 1937, Kennedy was prescribed steroids to control his colitis, which only heightened his medical problems causing him to develop osteoporosis of the lower lumbar spine [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1276266]. In 1938, Kennedy wrote his honors thesis, entitled "Why England Slept" on the British portion of the Munich Agreement. He graduated cum laude from Harvard with a degree in international affairs in June 1940. His thesis was published in 1940 and became a best-seller.

Military service

In the spring of 1941, Kennedy volunteered for the U.S. Army, but was rejected, mainly because of his troublesome back. However, the U.S. Navy accepted him in September of that year with the influence of the director of the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI), a former naval attaché to ambassador Joseph Kennedy. As an ensign, he served in the office that supplied bulletins and briefing information for the Secretary of the Navy. It was during this assignment that the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred. It was also during this time that he began a romantic relationship with Inga Arvad, a suspected Nazi spy. The relationship ended, however, when Kennedy was transferred to the ONI field office in South Carolina. He attended the Naval Reserve Officers Training School and Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Training Center before being assigned for duty in Panama and eventually the Pacific theater. He participated in various commands in the Pacific theater and earned the rank of lieutenant, commanding a patrol torpedo boat (PT boat).[http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq60-2.htm] patrol torpedo boat On August 2, 1943, Kennedy's boat, the PT-109, was taking part in a night-time military raid near New Georgia (near the Solomon Islands) when it was rammed by a Japanese destroyer. Kennedy was thrown across the deck, injuring his already troubled back. Still, Kennedy somehow towed a wounded man three miles through the ocean, arriving on an island where his crew was subsequently rescued. Kennedy said that he blacked out for periods of time during the ordeal. For these actions, Kennedy received the Navy and Marine Corps Medal under the following citation: :"For heroism the rescue of 3 men following the ramming and sinking of his motor torpedo boat while attempting a torpedo attack on a Japanese destroyer in the Solomon Islands area on the night of Aug 1-2, 1943. Lt. KENNEDY, Capt. of the boat, directed the rescue of the crew and personally rescued 3 men, one of whom was seriously injured. During the following 6 days, he succeeded in getting his crew ashore, and after swimming many hours attempting to secure aid and food, finally effected the rescue of the men. His courage, endurance and excellent leadership contributed to the saving of several lives and was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service." Kennedy's other decorations of the Second World War include the Purple Heart, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal. He was honorably discharged in early 1945, just a few months before the Japanese surrendered. In May 2002, a National Geographic expedition found what is believed to be the wreckage of the PT-109 in the Solomon Islands [http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/07/0709_020710_kennedyPT109.html].

Early political career

PT-109 After World War II, Kennedy entered politics (partly to fill the void of his popular brother, Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., on whom his family had pinned many of their hopes but who was killed in the war). In 1946, Representative James Michael Curley vacated his seat in an overwhelmingly Democratic district to become mayor of Boston and Kennedy ran for that seat, beating his Republican opponent by a large margin. He was reelected twice, but had a mixed voting record, often diverging from President Harry S. Truman and the rest of the Democratic Party. Harry S. Truman commencement.]] In 1952, Kennedy ran for the Senate with the slogan "Kennedy will do more for Massachusetts." In an upset victory, he defeated Republican incumbent Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. by a margin of about 70,000 votes. Kennedy adroitly dodged criticizing fellow Senator Joseph McCarthy's controversial campaign to root out Communists and Soviet spies in the U.S. government, because of McCarthy's popularity in Massachusetts. McCarthy was a friend of JFK's father, dated the Kennedy sisters, and younger brother Robert F. Kennedy briefly worked for McCarthy. Although Kennedy was ill during the 65–22 vote to censure McCarthy, he was criticized by McCarthy opponents such as Eleanor Roosevelt who later said of the episode, "he should have displayed less profile, and more courage". Kennedy married Jacqueline Lee Bouvier on September 12, 1953. He underwent several spinal operations in the two following years, nearly dying (receiving the Catholic faith's "last rites" four times during his life), and was often absent from the Senate. During this period, he published Profiles in Courage, highlighting eight instances in which U.S. Senators risked their careers by standing by their personal beliefs. The book was awarded the 1957 Pulitzer Prize for Biography. In 1956, Kennedy campaigned for the Vice Presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention, but convention delegates selected Tennessee Senator Estes Kefauver instead. However, Kennedy's efforts helped bolster his reputation within the party. An example of Kennedy's political suppleness prior to the 1960 campaign was his handling of the Civil Rights Act of 1957. He voted for final passage, while earlier voting for the "jury trial amendment", which some people feel rendered the Act toothless. He was able to say to both sides that he supported them. In 1958, Kennedy published the first edition of his book A Nation of Immigrants, closely following his involvement in the Displaced Persons Act and the 1957 bill to bring families together.

1960 Presidential election

A Nation of Immigrants In 1960, Kennedy declared his intent to run for President of the United States. In the Democratic primary election, he faced challenges from Senator Hubert H. Humphrey of Minnesota, Senator Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas, and Adlai Stevenson, the Democratic nominee in 1952 and 1956 who was not officially running but was a favorite write-in candidate. Kennedy won key primaries like Wisconsin and West Virginia. In the latter state, Kennedy made a visit to a coal-mine, and talked to the mine workers to win their support, as most people in that conservative, mostly Protestant state were deeply suspicious about Kennedy being a Catholic. Kennedy emerged as a universally acceptable candidate for the party after that victory. On July 13, 1960 the Democratic Party nominated Kennedy as its candidate for president. Kennedy asked Johnson to be his Vice Presidential candidate, despite clashes between the two during the primary elections. He needed Johnson's strength in the South to win what was considered likely to be the closest election since 1916. Major issues included how to get the economy moving again, Kennedy's Catholicism, Cuba, and whether or not both the Soviet space and missile programs had surpassed those of the U.S. To allay fears that his Roman Catholicism would impact his decision-making, he said in a famous speech in Houston, Texas (to the Greater Houston Ministerial Association), on September 12, 1960, "I am not the Catholic candidate for President. I am the Democratic Party's candidate for President who happens also to be a Catholic. I do not speak for my Church on public matters - and the Church does not speak for me." [http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/johnfkennedyhoustonministerialspeech.html] (Also see Al Smith, the first Catholic to receive the presidential nomination for a major party, in 1928.) In September and October, Kennedy debated Republican candidate Vice President Richard Nixon in the first televised US presidential debates. During the debates, Nixon looked tense, sweaty, and unshaven compared to Kennedy's composure and handsomeness, leading many to deem Kennedy the winner, although historians consider the two evenly matched as orators. Interestingly, many who listened on radio thought Nixon more impressive in the debate.[http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/K/htmlK/kennedy-nixon/kennedy-nixon.htm] The debates are considered a political landmark: the point at which the medium of television played an important role in politics and looking presentable on camera became one of the important considerations for presidential and other political candidates. In the general election on November 8, 1960, Kennedy beat Nixon in a very close race. There were serious allegations that vote fraud in Texas and Illinois had cost Nixon the presidency[http://www.leanleft.com/archives/cat_reviews.html]. There were unusually large margins in Richard Daley's Chicago — which were announced after the rest of the vote in Illinois. The only change after the official recount was a win for Kennedy in Hawaii.

Presidency

Hawaii] Kennedy was sworn in as the 35th President on January 20, 1961. In his inaugural address he spoke of the need for all Americans to be active citizens. "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country", he said. He also asked the nations of the world to join together to fight what he called the "common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself." [http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/jfk-inaug.htm]

Foreign policies

On April 17, 1961, Kennedy gave orders allowing a previously-planned invasion of Cuba to proceed. With support from the CIA, in what is known as the Bay of Pigs Invasion, 1,500 U.S.-trained Cuban exiles, called "Brigade 2506" returned to the island in the hope of deposing Castro, but the CIA had underestimated popular support for Castro, made several mistakes in devising and carrying out the plan, and the exiles did not rally the Cuban people as expected. By April 19 Castro's government had killed or captured most of the invading exiles and Kennedy was forced to negotiate for the release for the 1,189 survivors. After 20 months, Cuba released the captured exiles in exchange for $53 million worth of food and medicine. The incident was a major embarrassment for Kennedy, but he took full responsibility for the debacle. On August 13, 1961, the East German government began construction of the Berlin Wall separating East Berlin from the Western sector of the city, due to the American military presence in West Berlin. Kennedy claimed this action was in violation of the "Four Powers" agreements. Kennedy initiated no action to have it dismantled, and did little to reverse or halt the eventual extension of this barrier to a length of 155 km. The Cuban Missile Crisis began on October 14, 1962 when American U-2 spy planes took photographs of a Soviet intermediate range ballistic missile site under construction in Cuba. Kennedy faced a dire dilemma: if the U.S. attacked the sites it might have led to nuclear war with the U.S.S.R. If the U.S. did nothing, it would endure the perpetual threat of nuclear weapons within its region, in such close proximity, that if launched preemptively, the U.S. may have been unable to retaliate. Another fear was that the U.S. would appear to the world as weak in its own hemisphere. Many military officials and cabinet members pressed for an air assault on the missile sites but Kennedy ordered a naval quarantine in which the U.S. Navy inspected all ships. He began negotiations with the Soviets and a week later, he and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev reached an agreement. Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles while the U.S. publicly promised never to invade Cuba, and also secretly promised to remove U.S. ballistic missiles from Turkey within six months. Following this incident, which brought the world closer to nuclear war than at any point before or since, Kennedy was more cautious in confronting the Soviet Union. Arguing that "those who make peaceful revolution impossible, make violent revolution inevitable", Kennedy sought to contain communism in Latin America, by establishing the Alliance for Progress, which sent aid to troubled countries in the region and sought greater human rights standards in the region. He worked closely with Puerto Rican Governor Luis Muñoz Marín for the development of the Alliance of Progress, as well as developments on the autonomy of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Another example of Kennedy's belief in the ability of non-military power to improve the world was the creation of the Peace Corps, one of his first acts as president. Through this program, which still exists today, Americans volunteered to help underdeveloped nations in areas such as education, farming, health care, and construction. Kennedy also used limited military action to contain the spread of communism. Determined to stand firm against the spread of communism, Kennedy continued the previous administration's policy of political, economic, and military support for the unstable South Vietnamese government, which included sending military advisers and U.S. special forces to the area. U.S. involvement in the area continually escalated until regular U.S. forces were directly fighting the Vietnam War in the next administration. On June 26, 1963 Kennedy visited West Berlin and gave a public speech criticizing communism. While Kennedy was speaking, some people on the other side of the wall in East Berlin were applauding Kennedy and showing their distaste for Soviet control. Kennedy used the construction of the Berlin Wall as an example of the failures of communism - "Freedom has many difficulties and democracy is not perfect, but we have never had to put a wall up to keep our people in." The speech is known for its famous phrase "Ich bin ein Berliner". Troubled by the long-term dangers of radioactive contamination and nuclear weapons proliferation, Kennedy also pushed for the adoption of a Limited or Partial Test Ban Treaty, which prohibited atomic testing on the ground, in the atmosphere, or underwater, but does not prohibit testing underground. The United States, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union were the initial signatories to the Treaty. Kennedy signed the Treaty into law in August 1963, and believed it to be one of the greatest accomplishments of his administration. On the occasion of his visit to Ireland in 1963, President Kennedy joined with Irish President Eamon de Valera to form The American Irish Foundation. The mission of this organization was to foster connections between Americans of Irish descent and the country of their ancestry. (See The Ireland Funds)

Domestic policies

The Ireland Funds]] Kennedy used the term New Frontier as a label for his domestic program. It ambitiously promised federal funding for education, medical care for the elderly, and government intervention to halt the recession. Kennedy also promised an end to racial discrimination. The turbulent end of state-sanctioned racial discrimination was one of the most pressing domestic issues of Kennedy's era. The U.S. Supreme Court had ruled in 1954 that racial segregation in public schools would no longer be permitted. However, there were many schools, especially in southern states, that did not obey this decision. There also remained the practice of segregation on buses, in restaurants, movie theaters, and other public places. Kennedy started his fight for civil rights when he appealed to Black voters during his campaign in 1962. In 1962 James Meredith tried to enroll at the University of Mississippi, but he was prevented by white students. Kennedy responded by sending some 400 federal marshals and 3000 troops to ensure that Meredith could enroll in his first class. Kennedy also assigned federal marshals to protect Freedom Riders. Thousands of Americans of all races and backgrounds joined Kennedy in protesting racial discrimination. Kennedy supported racial integration and civil rights, and during the 1960 campaign he telephoned Coretta Scott King, wife of the jailed Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., which drew much black support to his candidacy. However, as president, Kennedy initially believed the grassroots movement for civil rights would only anger many Southern whites and make it even more difficult to pass civil rights laws through Congress, which was dominated by Southern Democrats, and he distanced himself from it. As a result, many civil rights leaders viewed Kennedy as unsupportive of their efforts. On June 11, President Kennedy intervened when the Governor of Alabama, George Wallace, blocked the doorway to the University of Alabama to stop two black students, Vivian Malone and James Hood, from enrolling. George Wallace moved aside after being confronted by federal marshals, Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach, and the Alabama National Guard. That evening Kennedy gave his famous Civil Rights Address on National television and radio. [http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/johnfkennedycivilrights.htm] Kennedy proposed what would become the Civil Rights Act of 1964. [http://www.mass.gov/statehouse/statues/jfk_landing.htm] [http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/39.htm] Also on the domestic front, in 1963 Kennedy proposed a tax reform that included income tax cuts, but this was not passed by the Congress until after his death in 1964. It is one of the largest tax cuts in modern U.S. history, surpassing the Reagan tax cut of 1981.

Support of space programs

Neil Armstrong.]] Kennedy was eager for the United States to lead the way in the space race. The Soviet Union was ahead of the U.S. in its knowledge of space exploration and Kennedy was determined that the U.S. could catch up. In a speech made at Rice University in September 1962, he said , "No nation which expects to be the leader of other nations can expect to stay behind in this race for space" and "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard."[http://webcast.rice.edu/speeches/19620912kennedy.html] Kennedy asked Congress to approve more than twenty two billion dollars for Project Apollo, which had the goal of landing an American man on the Moon before the end of the decade. In 1969, six years after Kennedy's death, this goal was finally realized when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to land on the Moon.

Cabinet


Buzz Aldrin ----

Supreme Court appointments

Kennedy appointed the following Justices to the Supreme Court of the United States:
- Byron Raymond White - 1962
- Arthur Joseph Goldberg - 1962

Image, social life and family

Both Kennedy and his wife "Jackie" were very young in comparison to earlier presidents and first ladies, and were both extraordinarily popular in ways more common to pop singers and movie stars than politicians, influencing fashion trends and becoming the subjects of numerous photo spreads in popular magazines. The Kennedys brought a new life and vigor to the atmosphere of the White House. They believed that the White House should be a place to celebrate American history, culture, and achievement, and invited artists, writers, scientists, poets, musicians, actors, Nobel Prize winners and athletes to visit. Jacqueline Kennedy also gathered new art and furniture and eventually restored all the rooms in the White House. The White House also seemed like a more fun, youthful place, because of the Kennedys' two young children, Caroline and John Jr. (who came to be known in the popular press as "John-John" though years later Jacqueline Kennedy denied that the family called him by that name). Outside the White House Lawn, the Kennedys established a pre-school, swimming pool, and tree house. John Jr. Behind the glamorous facade, the Kennedys also suffered many personal tragedies. Jacqueline suffered a miscarriage in 1955, and gave birth to a stillborn daughter in 1956. (Although the daughter was unnamed - and is buried at Arlingto