JFK: A Timeline

1917-1963

• MAY 29, 1917: Born in Brookline, Mass.,

the son of Joe and Rose Kennedy

(Fitzgerald) and the great-grandson of

Irish immigrants.

• JUNE 1940: Graduates cum laude with a

bachelor of science degree from Harvard

University.

• JULY 1940: Kennedy's college thesis

"Appeasement in Munich," about Britain's

failure to prepare itself against Nazi

Germany, is published as a book titled

Why England Slept.

• SEPTEMBER 1941: At age 24, he is sworn in as an ensign in the U.S. Navy.

• MARCH 1943: Given command of PT-109 as a lieutenant.

• AUG. 3, 1943: While on active duty in Blackett Strait, North Solomon Islands in the Pacific, PT-109 is sunk by the Japanese. Kennedy performed heroically in rescuing his crew.

JFK – The Politician

• NOV. 5, 1946: Elected as a U.S.

representative for the 11th Congressional

District in Boston at age 29. He is re-

elected in 1948 and 1950.

• NOV. 4, 1952: Elected as senator from

Massachusetts and re-elected in 1958.

• SEPT. 12, 1953: Marries Jacqueline Lee

Bouvier in Newport, R.I. She is the

daughter of John Vernon Bouvier III and

Janet Lee Bouvier.

• OCT. 21, 1954: Undergoes surgery for a

back injury he received during the PT-109

incident.

• FEBRUARY 1955: Undergoes a second

back operation during which he almost

dies. During his recovery, he writes

Profiles in Courage, which won a Pulitzer

Prize for biography in 1957.

• NOV. 27, 1957: Caroline Bouvier Kennedy

is born at Cornell Medical Center, New

York.

• JULY 13, 1960: Receives the Democratic

nomination for president.

• NOV. 8,1960: Defeats Richard M. Nixon to

become the 35th president of the United

States. Kennedy wins by a margin of 2/10

of 1 percent with 49.75 percent of the

votes. Nixon receives 49.55 percent.

• NOV. 25, 1960: John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Jr. is born at Georgetown University

Hospital.

• JAN. 20, 1961: At age 43, takes the oath of office to become the 35th president of the United States. He is the youngest elected president and the first president to be Roman Catholic. In his inaugural speech, Kennedy speaks these words: "And so, my fellow Americans ... ask not what your country can do for you ... ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world ... ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man."

• MARCH 1, 1961: Signs a bill creating the Peace Corps.

• APRIL 17, 1961: The Bay of Pigs invasion

of Cuba. Kennedy supports the invasion to

oust that country's Communist leader,

Fidel Castro, but the invasion fails.

Kennedy is heavily criticized.

• Invasion planned by Eisenhower and

Nixon!!!

• JUNE 3-4, 1961: Meets with Nikita Khrushchev

in Vienna on international issues. The focus of

the meeting is disarmament, Germany, Laos and

nuclear testing. They fail to agree on certain

problems but issue a joint statement that they

agree to "maintain contact on all questions of

interest to the two countries and for the whole

world." After this meeting, the Soviets build a

wall between East and West Berlin during the

summer.

• OCT. 16-28, 1962: U.S. intelligence discovers that the Russians are building missile sites in Cuba, thus beginning the Cuban Missile Crisis. Kennedy orders a naval and air quarantine on all shipments of weapons to Cuba. Armed conflict seems imminent; however, the Soviets retreat and promise not to set up the missiles. The United States agrees not to attack Cuba.

The Assassination of John F.

Kennedy

NOV. 21, 1963 (THURSDAY): Kennedy

begins his tour of Texas. One of the cities

on the tour is Dallas.

NOV. 22, 1963 (FRIDAY): John Fitzgerald

Kennedy is shot at 12:30 p.m. He is

pronounced dead at 1 p.m. at Parkland

Memorial Hospital.

Note: The assassination is filmed by

Abraham Zapruder (the Zapruder film)

Lyndon B. Johnson is sworn in as

President of the United States

- Texas

- LBJ and JFK not

great friends

- Texans did not

like Kennedy

- LBJ took the oath

of office on

Air Force One

Lee Harvey Oswald is Arrested

- Former Marine

- Lived in USSR

- Married to a Russian

- Supported Castro

- Worked at the TSBD

- Owned the gun found

at the TSBD

- Oswald claims he is innocent

NOV. 24, 1963 (SUNDAY): Jack Ruby

fatally shoots Lee Harvey Oswald. - Ruby is a Dallas night club owner

-Ruby is connected to the mafia

2 Big Questions????

1. WHO killed John F.

Kennedy?

2. WHO wanted John F.

Kennedy dead?

Possible Answers to #1:

(names please)

1. Lee Harvey Oswald

2.

3.

4.

5.

Possible Answers to #2:

1. Lee Harvey Oswald

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Possible Answers to #2:

1. Lee Harvey Oswald

2. Cuba/Castro

3. Soviet Union/Khrushchev

4. CIA – Bay of Pigs

5. FBI – Bay of Pigs

6. U.S. Military Leaders – Missile Crisis

7. The Mafia – Cuba Connections - gambling

8. Texas Businessmen – Cuba – cattle/sugarcane

9. LBJ – wanted to be President?

10. Jackie – Marilyn Monroe

11. JFK – “Blaze of Glory”

The Government Investigation

• NOV. 29, 1963: President Lyndon B.

Johnson appoints the Warren Commission

to investigate the assassination.

And…

- The Warren Commission

concludes – after investigating

all of the possibilities that we

listed plus a few others that…

Lee Harvey

Oswald Acted

Alone!!!

The Legacy of John F. Kennedy

- What did John F. Kennedy accomplish in

his short presidency?

- What impact does his presidency still have

today?

- On Monday, using the CFF laptops we will

investigate these questions!

“Code of Honor”

Chapters 12 and 13

The JFK Legacy

- The Space Program – man on the

moon/Cape Canaveral becomes Cape

Kennedy

- Civil Rights Movement Support

- Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

- Continued Involvement in Vietnam

• SEPT. 12, 1962: Delivers a speech at Rice University, pledging that the United States will put a man on the moon "before the end of this decade." Seven years later, on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong walks on the moon.

• This is a direct result of the Russians “beating” the US in the space race – Sputnik – 1957 – math/science classes!

• NOV. 16, 1963 (SATURDAY): Visits Cape

Canaveral. Ten days after his visit, the

cape was renamed Cape Kennedy. Today

it is known as the Kennedy Space Center

at Cape Canaveral.

• JUNE 11, 1963: Sends the Alabama

National Guard to the University of

Alabama to protect two African-American

students who won a court order to attend

the college. Kennedy speaks on television

later in the day and expresses his support

for the civil rights movement.

• OCT. 7, 1963: Signs the Nuclear Test Ban

Treaty in Washington, D.C.: "with our

courage and understanding enlarged by

this achievement, let us press onward in

quest of man's essential desire for peace.“

• United States/USSR/Great Britain sign

• No test detonations above ground

• Designed to slow the arms race/Cold War

The Vietnam War

- Reading Assignment: 864-876