1917 – John F. Kennedy was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, the son of Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald.
1935 – He enrolled at the London School of Economics with the intention of studying political economy for a year under the tutelage of Professor Harold Laski, , but an illness hospitalized him shortly after his enrollment. During the autumn of the same year, he enrolled in Princeton University, but was forced to leave after contracting jaundice. The next autumn, he began attending Harvard College.
1937 – Kennedy was prescribed steroids to control his colitis, causing him to develop osteoporosis of the lower lumbar spine.
1940 – He graduated cum laude from Harvard with a degree in international affairs in June. His thesis, "Why England Slept," was published in 1940 and became a bestseller.
1941 – Kennedy volunteered for the U.S. Army but was rejected, mainly because of his back problems. In September of that year, the U.S. Navy accepted him, due to the influence of the director of the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI), a former naval attaché to Ambassador Joseph Kennedy. He served in the office which supplied bulletins and briefing information for the Secretary of the Navy. He participated in various commands in the Pacific theater and earned the rank of lieutenant, commanding a patrol torpedo (PT) boat. Kennedy’s other decorations in World War II included the Purple Heart, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal.
1953-1960 – Kennedy married Jacqueline Lee Bouvier on September 12. He underwent several spinal operations in the two following years, receiving the Catholic faith’s "last rites" four times during his life, and was often absent from the Senate. During this period, he published Profiles in Courage, highlighting eight instances in which U.S. Senators risked their careers by standing by their personal beliefs. The book was awarded the 1957 Pulitzer Prize for Biography. In 1960, Kennedy declared his intent to run for President of the United States.
1961 – John Kennedy was sworn in as the 35th President on 20th of January.
1963 – President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. On Friday, 22nd of November, while on a political trip through Texas. He was struck by at least two bullets.