AMERICAN VISIONARY JOHN F. KENNEDY’S LIFE AND TIMES MAY 3 – SEPTEMBER 17, 2017 JFK Timeline 1906–1963 Information is excerpted from the book JFK: A Vision for America (HarperCollins),(HarperCollins), available in the museum store. jfk_SAAM_01-16_DP_CS55_v6.indd 1 3/2/17 11:04 AM “ A MAN MAY DIE, NATIONS MAY RISE AND FALL, BUT AN IDEA LIVES ON.” — John F. Kennedy Greenville, North Carolina, February 8, 1963 In the early 1960s, during John F. Kennedy’s administration, America envisioned — and began to realize — a new, modern nation. Kennedy pushed the U.S. forward into the space race, laid the foundation for the environmental movement, outlined legislation to protect civil rights, advocated equal pay for women, and promoted federal health insurance for the elderly as well as immigration laws that would make America more diverse. He also focused attention on cultural issues, laying the groundwork for the National Foundations for the Arts and Humanities. The timeline that follows reminds us about important events in Kennedy’s life, which are interspersed with key historical and cultural events and accompanied by photographs and ephemera that provide a rich context for the photographs in the exhibition. 2 jfk_SAAM_01-16_DP_CS55_v6.indd 2 3/2/17 11:04 AM Photo, © PhilippePhotos Halsman, Magnum Photo, jfk_SAAM_01-16_DP_CS55_v6.indd 3 3/2/17 11:04 AM 1906 John Francis “Honey July 28, 1929 Jacqueline Lee Bouvier is born in Southampton, Fitz” Fitzgerald is elected New York, elder child of stockbroker John Vernou Bouvier III and mayor of Boston. socialite Janet Lee Bouvier. October 7, 1914 Joseph October 29, 1929 Black Tuesday: Wall Street crash precipitates Patrick Kennedy, elder son of Patrick Joseph Kennedy, marries Great Depression, which will persist for 10 years. Rose Fitzgerald, eldest daughter of Boston mayor Honey Fitz, joining two prominent political families (and former rivals). 1930–31 “Jack” Kennedy is enrolled at Canterbury, a Roman Catholic boarding school in New Milford, CT, but withdraws May 29, 1917 John Fitzgerald Kennedy is born in Brookline, after developing appendicitis. MA, second of nine Kennedy children. 1931–35 Attends elite boarding school Choate, in Wallingford, June 19, 1917 Baptized at St. Aidan’s Roman Catholic Church. CT, earning only mediocre grades. November 11, 1918 World War I ends. 1932 President Franklin D. Roosevelt announces New Deal, a series of initiatives and social programs in response to Great Depression. Spring 1919 Shortly before third birthday, Kennedy contracts scarlet fever. He is hospitalized for two months. June 6, 1934 Joseph Kennedy Sr. appointed by FDR as the ¡ rst president of Securities and Exchange Commission. October 28, 1919 Congress passes National Prohibition Act (over President Wilson’s veto) prohibiting sale of alcohol and Summer 1935 At 18, JFK makes fi rst trip abroad, to attend London spawning a proliferation of speakeasies across the country. School of Economics, following in footsteps of older brother, Joe. August 26, 1920 The 19th Amendment, giving women the right January 1936 President Roosevelt names Joseph Kennedy as to vote, is formally adopted into U.S. Constitution. U.S. ambassador to Great Britain. Summer 1926 Joe Sr. rents what will become the family summer Fall 1936 Kennedy begins fi rst year at Harvard University, home in Hyannis Port, MA, on Cape Cod. in Cambridge, MA. He’s the man who put the Kennedy’s education was often “Fitzgerald” in “John Fitzgerald interrupted with bouts of illness Kennedy.” A Democratic and periods of recovery, though congressman and two-term he still managed to graduate cum mayor of Boston, JFK’s laude from Harvard in 1940. grandfather was known for a persuasive charm that earned him the nickname “Honey Fitz.” The second born into a family of nine children, Kennedy began life in the suburbs of Boston, then resided in Riverdale and Bronxville, New York; boarding schools in Connecticut; and the family summer home in Hyannis Port. 4 jfk_SAAM_01-16_DP_CS55_v6.indd 4 3/2/17 11:04 AM Summer 1937 Spends 10 weeks traveling through England, September 25, 1941 Enlists in U.S. Navy. France, Italy, Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands with child- hood friend Lem Billings. December 7, 1941 The Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor. United States enters World War II. July 4, 1938 Sails to England with brother Joe Jr. to live at American embassy in London, where both work with Joe Sr. August 2, 1943 Japanese destroyer rams PT-109, patrol torpedo boat Lieutenant Kennedy commands, while it is on active duty Winter 1939 Spends second semester of junior year working in the Solomon Islands’ Blackett Strait, sinking the vessel and at American embassy in Paris. Travels through Poland, Moscow, killing two crew members. and Berlin. August 8, 1943 Kennedy and his 10 surviving PT-109 crew March 12, 1939 The Kennedy family attends the coronation of members are rescued. Pope Pius XII in Rome, and granted private audience with Pope the following day. June 11, 1944 Awarded U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Medal and Purple Heart for actions while in command of PT-109. August 1, 1939 His Harvard thesis, “Appeasement at Munich,” is published as his fi rst book, Why England Slept. August 12, 1944 Navy pilot Joe Jr. is killed in Europe when his plane explodes shortly after takeo¤ . September 1, 1939 Listens from visitors’ gallery at House of Commons as British prime minister Neville Chamberlain April 1945 JFK works as reporter for Hearst Newspapers, declares war on Germany. World War II begins. covering the creation of United Nations in San Francisco, the Potsdam conference, elections in London, and developing September 1940 Briefl y attends Stanford as graduate student, relationships with top-level U.S. offi cials. taking classes in business, economics, and political science. August 15, 1945 Following the August 6 U.S. atomic bombing Spring 1941 Assists father in writing his memoir on years as of Hiroshima and the August 9 bombing of Nagasaki, Japanese ambassador. Spends several weeks traveling South America: announce surrender. Surrender documents signed on September 2 Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay, Argentina, and Chile. o¥ cially end World War II. The publication of Kennedy’s Harvard thesis and his brief but distinguished military career proved invaluable to Of privilege, and public shaping his political identity. service; Joe Kennedy’s appointments under President Roosevelt infl uenced a young JFK with an early life of world travel and close contact with political leaders and world dignitaries. 5 jfk_SAAM_01-16_DP_CS55_v6.indd 5 3/2/17 11:05 AM September 1946 May 13, 1948 Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy Cavendish dies in plane Kennedy is diagnosed crash on ¦ ight from French Riviera to Paris. with Addison’s disease, potentially fatal disorder October 1, 1949 Mao Zedong proclaims People’s Republic of of adrenal glands. He is prescribed regimen of medications; China; it is recognized by USSR the following day. the condition is kept from the public. June 25, 1950 President Harry S. Truman orders U.S. Air Force November 5, 1946 Elected U.S. representative for Eleventh and Navy into Korean con¦ ict one day after North Korea invades Congressional District in Boston. the South. December 19, 1946 War breaks out in Indochina as President December 19, 1950 Tibet’s Dalai Lama ¦ ees Chinese invasion. Ho Chi Minh attacks French in Hanoi. February 22, 1951 Fresh from fi ve-week European tour, Kennedy April 22, 1947 Congressmen Jack Kennedy and Dick Nixon travel testifi es before Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services to western Pennsylvania for their little-known fi rst series of debates. Committees on how best to defend Europe against Soviet infl uence and control. June 25, 1947 The ¡ rst edition of Anne Frank’s diary is published in the Netherlands, as Het Achterhuis. May 1951 Meets Jacqueline Bouvier at dinner party. November 20, 1947 Appealing to Italian voting bloc in October 6, 1951 Stalin announces that USSR has atom bomb. Massachusetts, JFK makes speech in Congress supporting $227 million aid package to Italy, calling it “the initial battleground May 9, 1951 JFK introduces bill to Congress seeking to restrict in the communist drive to capture Western Europe.” American and allies’ trade with “Red China.” The loss of Kathleen Kennedy at age twenty-eight was particularly profound for JFK; the two shared the Kennedy was encouraged closest relationship among by his father to run for the Kennedy siblings. U.S. representative from Massachusetts in 1946; Joe Sr. was the driving force behind JFK’s entire political career, pulling favors, providing funding, and promoting the image. 6 jfk_SAAM_01-16_DP_CS55_v6.indd 6 3/2/17 11:07 AM October 15, 1951 Arrives in Saigon, Vietnam, traveling with December 1, 1955 Rosa Parks is arrested in Montgomery, AL, brother Robert and sister Patricia on extended trip to Far East. for refusing to surrender her bus seat to a white passenger and move to the back of the bus. April 6, 1952 Tapes ad for Senate campaign, voicing support for government-sponsored low- and middle-income housing. September 9, 1956 Elvis Presley makes debut TV appearance as guest on The Ed Sullivan Show. November 4, 1952 Wins Senate seat, beating incumbent Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. November 6, 1956 Eisenhower is reelected, defeating Adlai E. Stevenson. September 12, 1953 Jack and Jackie’s wedding in Newport, RI, is social event of the season, attended by 1,200. Jacqueline’s May 6, 1957 Profi les in Courage is awarded Pulitzer Prize for stepfather, Hugh D. Auchincloss, walks her down the aisle. biography. Kennedy maintains he wrote the book, yet he offers adviser Ted Sorensen half the royalties for fi rst fi ve years of October 30, 1953 The newlyweds are interviewed from their publication. Boston apartment on Edward R.