Resources Menu | Coffee | Library | Gallery | Lucidcafé Home | Revised: February 29, 2008
John Fitzgerald Kennedy
35th President of the United States
1917 - 1963
Those who make peaceful revolution impossible
will make violent revolution inevitable.
—JFK
John F. Kennedy was born on May 29, 1917 in Brookline, Massachusetts. He entered the Navy in 1940 after graduation from Harvard. Back from the war, he became a Democratic Congressman from the Boston area, advancing in 1953 to the Senate. He married Jacqueline Bouvier on September 12, 1953. In 1955, while recuperating from a back operation, he wrote "Profiles in Courage," and won the Pulitzer Prize in history.
In 1960 Kennedy gained the Democratic Party's nomination for President. Millions watched his television debates with the Republican candidate, Richard M. Nixon. Winning by a narrow margin in the popular vote, Kennedy became the youngest man elected President, and the first Roman Catholic.
President Kennedy's economic programs launched the country on its longest sustained expansion since World War II. He also took vigorous action in the cause of equal rights, calling for new civil rights legislation.
Shortly after his inauguration, Kennedy permitted a group of Cuban exiles to invade Cuba in an attempt to overthrow the regime of Fidel Castro. The invasion was a failure. In 1962 the Russians began to install nuclear missiles in Cuba. When this was discovered in October of 1962, Kennedy imposed a quarantine on all offensive weapons bound for Cuba. With the world on the brink of nuclear war, the Russians backed down and agreed to remove the missiles. Kennedy asserted that both the Russians and Americans had a vital interest in stopping the spread of nuclear weapons and the arms race. To this end his administration negotiated the test ban treaty of 1963.
On November 22, 1963, John Fitzgerald Kennedy was killed by an assassin's bullets as his motorcade wound through Dallas, Texas.
If you are aware of books, movies, databases, web sites or other information sources about John F. Kennedy or related subjects, or if you would like to comment please send us email: .
Resources
• Related Figures in the Lucidcafé Library
• Other American Presidents the Lucidcafé Library
• Books About JFK
• Videos/DVDs About JFK
• JFK Images
• Online Video Clips
• Related Websites
• Kennedy Speeches
Related Figures in the Lucidcafé Library
Other American Presidents in the Lucidcafé Library
Books About JFK
- John F. Kennedy: A Biography - Author: Michael O'Brien
This thoughtful biography takes advantage of the huge volume of new material released from government archives and the JFK Library.
CLICK HERE to purchase this hardcover edition of "John F. Kennedy: A Biography" - John F. Kennedy On Leadership: The Lessons And Legacy Of A President - Author: John A. Barnes
Barnes draws on the life and presidency of JFK to cover the fundamentals of success.
CLICK HERE to purchase this hardcover edition of "John F. Kennedy On Leadership" - John F. Kennedy: The Presidential Portfolio: History as Told Through the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum - Author: Charles Kenney
Drawing on the resources of the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum, this book offers a thoroughly illustrated, thoughtful, and sometimes even critical overview of the late president's life and political accomplishments.
CLICK HERE to purchase this hardcover edition of "John F. Kennedy: The Presidential Portfolio" - John F. Kennedy, Commander in Chief: A Profile in Leadership - Author: Pierre Salinger
Pierre Salinger, press secretary and confidant to the president, provides an insightful view of John F. Kennedy. He shares his unique understanding of all the major events of the Kennedy administration and draws a fascinating and clear depiction of the Kennedy learning curve--illuminating the brilliance of the man.
CLICK HERE to purchase this hardcover edition of "John F. Kennedy, Commander in Chief" - Conversations With Kennedy - Author: Benjamin Bradlee
Ben Bradlee, former editor of the Washington Post, forged a relationship with John F. Kennedy in the late fifties when they were neighbors in Washington. They remained intimate friends and confidants until the president's assassination. Bradlee shares their conversations with us in this insightful portrait of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the president and the man.
CLICK HERE to purchase this hardcover edition of "Conversations With Kennedy"
Videos/DVD About JFK
- JFK - A Presidency Revealed (History Channel)
This revealing History Channel production examines the political crises, social unrest, and personal intricacies that marked the Kennedy administration. Takes advantage of new material released from government archives.
CLICK HERE to purchase this video edition of "JFK - A Presidency Revealed" - The Speeches of John F. Kennedy (1998)
Contains all of Kennedy's major addresses, as well as some illuminating and little known statements.
CLICK HERE to purchase this video edition of "The Speeches of John F. Kennedy" - Great TV News Stories 6 - The Great Debates: John F. Kennedy Vs. Richard M. Nixon - Producer: ABC News
The 1960 presidential debates - two of history's most famous figures square off in a series of televised debates that riveted the nation.
CLICK HERE to purchase this video edition of "Kennedy vs. Nixon Debates" - Image of an Assassination (1998)
The first commercially available video version of the legendary 26-second "Zapruder Film." This historical document remains a significant record of one of the nation's most devastating events and is still cited as a key piece of evidence in the debate over the truth of Kennedy's murder.
CLICK HERE to purchase this video edition of "Image of an Assassination"
Online Video Clips
- President Kennedy is Assassinated—See this footage of the event that shocked a nation. President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed on November 22nd, 1963 while driving through the streets of Dallas in an open convertable.
- Cuban Missile Crisis Fidel Castro—Watch this video of one of the most terrifying moments in U.S. history. With an alliance between communist Russia and Fidel Castro's Cuba, the world came to the brink of nuclear war.
Kennedy Speeches
- JFK Inaugural Address—January 20, 1961
- The Nation's Space Effort—JFK's address at Rice University, September 12, 1962
- Cuban Missile Crisis—JFK's television address to the nation on Monday, October 22, 1962
- "Ich bin ein Berliner"—JFK addresses an immense crowd near the Berlin Wall - June 26, 1963
- Kennedy Library Archive of selected speeches
Related Websites
|
|
|
Back to Resources Menu
Back to Top
Genuine Jamaican Blue Mountain
Click above to order . . .
Copyright © 1995-2008 Robin Chew
Article written by Robin Chew - May 1996
