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John F. Kennedy |
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John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22,
1963), also referred to as JFK, was the 35th President of the United
States. He served from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. His
leadership during the ramming of his PT-109 during World War II led to
being cited for bravery and heroism in the South Pacific. Kennedy
represented Massachusetts during 1947–1960, as both a member of the U.S.
House of Representatives and U.S. Senate. He was elected President in 1960
in one of the closest elections in American history. He is the only Roman
Catholic to be elected President of the United States as of 2006. Major events during his presidency included the Bay of Pigs invasion, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the building of the Berlin Wall, the Space Race, early events of the Vietnam War, and the American Civil Rights Movement. John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963. Official investigations have repeatedly determined Lee Harvey Oswald was the assassin, but critics allege that Oswald acted as part of a conspiracy or was not involved at all and was framed. Kennedy's assassination is considered to be a defining moment in U.S. history due to its traumatic impact on the nation as well as on the political history of the ensuing decades, his subsequent branding as an icon for a new generation of Americans and American aspirations, and for the mystery and conspiracy allegations which surround it. |