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a brief summary of JFK's memorable life
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At age 24, he is sworn in as an ensign in the U.S. Navy.
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Awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal and Purple Heart for his actions while in command of PT-109.
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Honorably discharged from the Navy with the full rank of lieutenant.
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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.
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NOV. 4, 1952: Elected as senator from Massachusetts and re-elected in 1958.
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Marries Jacqueline Lee Bouvier in Newport, R.I. She is the daughter of John Vernon Bouvier III and Janet Lee Bouvier
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AUG. 17, 1956: Loses his bid for the Democratic nomination for vice president.
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Announces his candidacy for president of the United States
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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.
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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."
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John Fitzgerald Kennedy is shot at 12:30 p.m. while riding in an open-top limousine in a motorcade through downtown Dallas. He is pronounced dead at 1 p.m. at Parkland Memorial Hospital. Eighty minutes after the assassination, Lee Harvey Oswald is arrested. Later Oswald is charged with murder.
