John F. Kennedy
Madison Chessare
Born into in the Kennedy Family
John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born at 83 Beals Street in Brookline, Massachusetts on May 29, 1917 to businessman/politician Joseph Patrick "Joe" Kennedy, Sr. and his wife Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy.
Early Years
Father and Sons
John F. Kennedy's father, Joseph P. Kennedy is holding his sons Joseph Patrick Junior on the left of this picture and two-year-old future president John Fitzgerald Kennedy, in 1919. John F. Kennedy's father had graduated from Harvard at the age of 25 and became the youngest bank president in the U.S. He made a fortune being a highly skilled bank investor and he really knew how to handle money. In 1914 Joseph Kennedy married Rose Fitzgerald and had nine children; Joe Jr., Jack, Rosemary, Kathleen, Eunice, Patricia, Robert, Jean, and Edward or also called Teddy.
Choate Grad
JFK attended Choate, a boarding school for adolescent boys in Connecticut, an exclusive prep school in Connecticut. JFK graduated from the class of 1935, and was voted "Most Likely to Succeed." John was very popular and had many friends at Choate, . He played tennis, basketball, football, and golf and also enjoyed reading. Jack graduated from Choate and entered Harvard in 1936, where Joe was already a student. Like his brother Joe, Jack played football. He was not as good an athlete as Joe but he had a lot of determination. Because of an injury to his spine he never fully recovered and had to stop playing.
Brothers
Joseph Patrick Kennedy on the left and John Fitzgerald Kennedy were pals but also rivals in their childhood. When you put the two brothers together they were very loyal but also very competitive, they often physically fought when they were boys. JFK's brother Joseph was a natural athlete and had many talents, but also was a bit more serious. Little John Kennedy was a well liked kid. He really enjoyed competing in sports and was influenced and encouraged by his father.
Summer Trips
Because the Kennedy's were wealthy at the end of the school year the Kennedy children would go to their summer home in Hyannis Port on Cape Cod where they enjoyed swimming, sailing, and playing touch football. Things were fun between the Kennedy children but they also enjoyed being competitive with one another. The father encouraged the competitive behavior especially with the boys. The father had very high expectations and wanted the boys to succeed and win everything they tried. His famous saying he would always say was "When the going gets tough, the tough get going".