Summery of Jfk

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born at 83 Beals Street in Brookline, Massachusetts on Tuesday, May 29, 1917. He went to many different prestigious schools during his childhood most of which was during the great depression. When he was 13 years old he was sent to Canterbury School which was a Roman Catholic boarding school for boys. After some medical problems he enrolled in Harvard College in 1936 and in 1937 through 1939 he toured Europe to learn about other countries and gather information for his thesis. He graduated from Harvard with a major in International affairs in June 1940, and his thesis was published in July as a book entitled why England slept and became a best seller.

After he traveled South America Kennedy enlisted in the U.S. Army but was rejected because of his back problems. Nevertheless, a couple months later in September 1941 he was accepted into the U.S. Navy. Kennedy served in an office which supplied bulletins and briefing forms to the Secretary of the Navy. It was during this assignment that the attack on Pearl Harbor occurred. 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. On August 2, 1943, Kennedy's boat (PT-109) was night patrolling near the coast of New Georgia when it was rammed by a Japanese destroyer. He was thrown overboard by the collision and towed another man to a near by island where they were later rescued.

After his discharge in early 1945 Kennedy had considered the option of becoming a journalist before deciding to run for political office. In 1946 he ran for State Representative and won by a very large margin. A few years later he became a Congressman for six years and then served as a Senator two terms. Kennedy married Jacqueline Lee Bouvier on September 12,...