John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917-1963) was an American politician and one of the prominent member of the Kennedy family. He served as the 35 th President of the United States from 1961 to 1963. Prior to his presidency, he served as a Representative from 1947 to 1953 and a U.S. Senator from 1953 to 1960, representing the state of Massachusetts. He remains a symbolic figure of the 1960s and his presidency was a milestone in the transition of the Democratic Party. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 in Texas, supposedly by Lee Harvey Oswald, and the cause of his assassination is still unknown.
Early life
Kennedy was born in 1917 in Brookline, Massachusetts. He graduated from Harvard University in 1940. During the World War II he joined the United States Navy and participated in the combat. He was severely injured in the battle, but survived. In 1946, he was elected to the United States Congress.
Political career
Election of 1960
In 1960, Kennedy was nominated by the Democratic Party for the presidential election. His opponent from the Republican Party was Richard Nixon, the Vice President at that time. The election was marked by the use of televised debate of the first time, between Kennedy and Nixon. During the debate, the young, calm Kennedy gained advantage against Nixon, who appeared awkward on the television.
Kennedy won the election narrowly, with 49.7% of the popular vote and 303 electoral votes. Nixon obtained 49.5% of the votes and 219 electoral votes. Several southern electors cast their electoral ballot to Harry F. Byrd, a segregationist Senator from Virginia.
Presidency
Supreme Court nominations
During his presidency, he nominated two justices to the Supreme Court. They are Byron White, best known for his dissent in Roe v. Wade, and Arthur J. Goldberg, who later left the court to serve as the U.S. Representative to the United Nations.