The first Catholic and the first man born in the 20th Century to become President.
John F Kennedy was born on May 29, 1917, in Brookline MA. His father was Joseph Kennedy, who made a fortune as a financier and in Hollywood. John Kennedy graduated from Harvard University in 1940 and served in the Navy during World War II. The people of Massachusetts elected him to the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. Kennedy won the Democratic nomination in 1960 and defeated Richard M. Nixon in a close election.
In April, 1961, the Kennedy Administration suffered its worst international setback when the invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs, which had been sponsored by the CIA, was crushed by Castro's forces. Later he defied Russian attempts to introduce nuclear missiles to that island. Kennedy supported civil rights and launched an ambitious program to put an American on the moon. He was assassinated while riding in a motorcade in Dallas TX on November 22, 1963.
