Born in 1888, the grandson of an Irish immigrant, Joseph Patrick Kennedy had an enormous drive to acquire both fame and fortune. His often cited goal was to be a millionaire by the age of 35. Within a year and a half of graduating from Harvard College, he had progressed from bank clerk through bank examiner to bank president and was on his way. Publicity from being the youngest U. S. bank president opened doors to other opportunities. Soon his financial enterprises embraced real estate, the stock market and motion pictures. Kennedy's accumulated wealth by 1929 enabled him to establish one million dollar trust funds for each of his children. In the 1930's he began to put his intelligence, personality and money into politics. His involvement in Roosevelt's inner circle during the presidential campaign led him to believe he would receive a cabinet post. Although that never materialized, he was chosen to head the newly created Securities and Exchange Commission, the regulatory body set up to govern the financial community. Later, he headed the Maritime Commission. However, his most famous appointment was that of ambassador to the Court of Saint James. He served from 1937 until 1940 when he retired from public service and returned to the business world. In 1961 he suffered a debilitating stroke followed by relapses and heart attacks that left him virtually incapacitated until his death in 1969.       |
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| I105 | I66 F0 | I16 | I136 F62 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
John F. Kennedy's charismatic personality was evident from early childhood, as was his competitiveness. His love of books and history, capacity for introspection and curiosity about ideas developed largely from the many hours he spent in bed with illnesses, starting with a particularly virulent attack of scarlet fever when he was two and one-half years old. Although he was often absent from school and illness forced him to drop out of a preparatory school and later, Princeton University, he graduated cum laude from Harvard University in 1940. With the 1944 death of his brother Joe, the family's political ambitions transferred to Jack. His road to the White House began with his election to Congress in 1946. Three terms there and he was ready to wrest a Senate seat from the popular Republican Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. Jack's foray into presidential politics started with his narrow defeat for nomination to be the vice presidential candidate on the 1956 ticket with Adlai Stevenson, Jr. In 1960 he sought and won the presidential nomination and subsequently, the election. When he took his oath of office on the old family Bible that had belonged to the first Fitzgerald to come to America, he was affirming the immigrant belief in America. On November, 22, 1963, John F. Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas, Texas.   |
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CAROLINE BOUVIER KENNEDY
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