35th President of the United States
John Fitzgerald Kennedy giving the Inaugural Address, as the 35th president of the United States, in Washington, DC on 20th January 1961. He had earlier gained the Democratic Party nomination for President. Kennedy won by a small margin in the November 1960 elections, becoming the youngest man and first-ever Roman Catholic to become president of the country.
Meeting with Martin Luther King, Civil Rights
Kennedy supported civil rights. But it was only after his death that meaningful legislation on the same was passed. In this file photo, he meets with prominent civil rights activist, including the iconic Martin Luther King, Jr.
Cuban Missile Crisis
President Kennedy personally telling the American people that soviet missile stations in Cuba were being ‘destroyed’. He said the country’s aerial surveillance team would continue till effective international inspections had been arranged.
Announcing Space Effort
On September 12, 1962. President Kennedy delivers a speech at Rice University. He detailed the nation’s objective to land a man on the moon within the decade. The president announced that he would continue supporting increased space expenditure. NASA eventually landed a man on the moon in 1969.
Assassination Day
Kennedy was riding in a 1961 Lincoln Continental convertible codenamed X-100. Following the shooting, the presidential limousine was examined for evidence of the Dallas shooting, overhauled, then cleaned and recommissioned for service in mid-1964. The limo continued to carry presidents till 1977. It’s currently on display in Dearborn, Michigan, at the Henry Ford Museum.
President Kennedy and his wife, Jackie, riding in the Lincoln Continental moments before the assassination.