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Top 10 Astonishing Facts about John F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald Kennedy (JFK) was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, on May 29, 1917. He was the 35^th President of the United States.

JFK was assassinated in 1963, he had just been in office for two years. Before becoming the President, he was in the army despite his ill health.

He came from a wealthy and influential family. He had eight siblings. JFK took after his father who had instilled in them the philosophy of always winning.  

His book, Profiles in Courage, won the Pulitzer Prize. He wrote this book while in the Senate. There is so much more about the 35^th President of America.

Although he served the country as President for a short while, he left a great impact. Here are the top 10 astonishing facts about John F Kennedy.

1. His family was famous and wealthy

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John F. Kennedy’s parents were Rose and Joseph Kennedy. Joseph Kennedy was a wealthy and powerful politician.

His father was appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt as the head of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He also served as the US ambassador to Great Britain in 1938.

JFK had 8 siblings, his older was brother Joseph Kennedy Jr. and seven younger ones. They were all active in politics, following their father’s footsteps.

AS President, JFK appointed his brother, Robert Francis Kennedy, as the attorney general of the United States. He also ran for presidency but was assassinated.   

John F. Kennedy was one of the richest American presidents.  

2. John F. Kennedy was a sickly child

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JFK grew up a sickly child. He suffered from a life-threatening illness. During his time at Choate, he had an emergency hospitalization at Yale-New Haven Hospital. The doctors diagnosed him with leukaemia.

In a notebook owned by his mother, she wrote that he suffered from measles, chickenpox and whooping cough. He caught scarlet fever when he was 3 years old.  

This information was not shared with the public in fear that it may affect his political ambitions. He even served in the military despite his ill health.  

While in office as the President, he had specialist doctors attend to him regularly. It was a well-kept secret.  

3. Despite his poor health, he was enlisted in the Navy

Since John Kennedy came from an influential family, he used this to his advantage to get into the US Navy. His ill health could not let him pass any physical examination.

With the help of his father, he used a false certificate of good health from a family doctor to get into the Navy. While serving in the Navy, their boat was hit by a missile and they had to swim to an island.

4. JF Kennedy received the Pulitzer Prize

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John Kennedy was a bestseller author. His Master’s thesis was turned into a book in 1939. It became a bestseller in 1940.

He worked as a newspaper correspondent covering the United Nations conference in San Francisco. This was after the World War II in Europe.

His other bestseller was Profiles in Courage. There were rumours that he was not the original author. It was believed that his ghostwriter was Ted Sorensen. This book won the Pulitzer Prize in 1957.  

5. He survived an attack on his boat while in the Navy

John graduated from Harvard University in 1940. He immediately joined the Navy during World War II. His role was on a patrol torpedo boat.

As the lieutenant, his boat was hit by a Japanese missile which split the boat into two. He and his crew were thrown into the ocean.

They were forced to swim 3 miles to a small island where they stayed for a week before they got help.

For his efforts, he was awarded the Purpleheart as well as Navy and Marine Corps medals.  

6. JFK won his first political seat aged 29

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John’s first political role was as a House Representative. He won this seat in 1946 aged 29.

His older brother Joseph Kennedy sr. was killed during World War II. He was the one expected to take after their father in politics.

John’s health condition made him miss Congress for some time. During his term as a House Representative, he focused on social services, higher wages, more affordable rent, and better working conditions.

7. He was involved in a car accident with Larry King

While driving in Palm Beach in Florida, he had a fender bender with Larry King. Larry King blamed himself for the accident saying he was distracted.

John, who was a senator them, was angry. After calming down, he asked Larry King to promise him his vote when he ran for president.  

8.  His presidential goals gave priority to education and housing

By Abbie Rowe – Wikimedia

As the President of the United States, JFK had great and ambitious goals for Americans. He gave prominence to domestic and foreign policies.

During his term, he had an exchange program for African students to study in America. It was known as the Fulbright exchange program.

He was also able to raise the minimum wage and provided Social Security benefits to surviving family members.

As the President, he used his executive orders to aid the civil rights movement. During his visit to West Berlin, he gave a speech in the city.

9. Two of his children died

By Cecil W. Stoughon – Wikimedia

He met his wife, Jacqueline Lee Bouvier while he was a congressman. They were married in 1953 after he elected as a senator.

The couple suffered a miscarriage and a stillbirth. Their third child was Caroline Kennedy born in 1957. She is the only surviving child of the Kennedy’s.

Their son John Fitzgerald Kennedy junior was born two years later. He was called john-john by the press. Unfortunately, he died in a plane crash in 1999.  

The bodies of the two children were moved to Arlington National Cemetery alongside JFK.

10. Since did not wear a hat, the sales went down

It was a custom for incoming presidents to wear a hat during their inauguration day. John F Kennedy was not a big fan of hats. Although he wore it when he was being sworn in, he did not wear it again.

He was the last American President to take part in this tradition.