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Birth
Born in Brookline, Mass. to Joe and Rose Kennedy -
School
Graduates with a bachelor of science degree from Harvard University. -
Awards
Awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal and Purple Heart for his actions while in command of PT-109. -
Navy
Honorably discharged from the Navy with the full rank of lieutenant. -
Elected
Elected as a U.S. representative for the 11th Congressional District in Boston at age 29. He is re-elected in 1948 and 1950. -
Senator
Elected as senator from Massachusetts and re-elected in 1958. -
surgery
Undergoes surgery for a back injury he received during the PT-109 incident. -
loses
Loses his bid for the Democratic nomination for vice president. -
Presidency
Announces his candidacy for president of the United States. -
Democrats
Receives the Democratic nomination for president. -
Elected
NOV. 8,1960: Defeats Richard M. Nixon to become the 35th president of the United States. Kennedy wins by a margin of 2/10 of 1 percent with 49.75 percent of the votes. Nixon receives 49.55 percent. -
Oath
At age 43, takes the oath of office to become the 35th president of the United States. He is the youngest elected president and the first president to be Roman Catholic. -
Signs a bill
Signs a bill creating the Peace Corps. -
Speech
Delivers a speech at Rice University, pledging that the United States will put a man on the moon "before the end of this decade." Seven years later, on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong walks on the moon. -
Signs
Signs the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in Washington, D.C. -
Statement
Sends a presidential statement to be read at the Centennial Ceremony in Gettysburg National Military Park, where Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address. -
Tour
Kennedy begins his tour of Texas. His destinations are San Antonio, Houston, Fort Worth, Dallas and Austin. -
Death
John Fitzgerald Kennedy is shot at 12:30 p.m. while riding in an open-top limousine in a motorcade through downtown Dallas.
