John F. Kennedy will long be remembered for challenging the American people: to put a man on the moon, to put aside racial prejudices, to join a volunteer corps to help undeveloped countries. From his childhood to his assassination, this special explores the life and legacy of the 35th President.

• John Fitzgerald Kennedy, often referred to by initials JFK and Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from January 1961 until his assassination in November 1963.
• Born: May 29, 1917, Brookline, MA
• Assassinated: November 22, 1963, Parkland Memorial Hospital, Dallas, TX
• Presidential term: January 20, 1961 – November 22, 1963
• Spouse: Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (m. 1953–1963)
• Party: Democratic Party
• Children: John F. Kennedy Jr., Caroline Kennedy, Patrick Bouvier Kennedy
• First president who was Catholic.
• First president born in the 20th century (Kennedy was born in 1917 and took office in 1961).
• First president (along with future president Richard Nixon) to participate in the first televised presidential debates. He took part in four televised debates in 1960.
• First president inaugurated with a living grandparent (Mary Josephine Hannon, his grandmother on his mother’s side)
• First president to have been a Boy Scout.
• First president to be awarded a Pulitzer Prize, received the Pulitzer Prize for Biography in 1957, for his book Profiles in Courage.
• First president to have previously served in the United States Navy.
• First president to have a brother serve in the U.S. Senate (Ted Kennedy) while in office.
• First president to have a brother serve in the Cabinet (Robert Kennedy) while in office.
• First president to be survived by both his parents. Kennedy died in 1963. His father Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. outlived him by six years, dying in 1969. His mother Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy outlived him by more than 30 years, dying in 1995.
• First president to be survived by a grandparent. Kennedy died in 1963. His maternal grandmother, Mary Josephine Hannon, died in 1964 at the age of 98.
• First president to be younger than four of his successors (Johnson, Nixon, Ford, and Reagan).
• First president to be assassinated and die on the same date.
• First president who was a Democrat to be assassinated.
• First president to use the Situation Room.
• First president to win fewer states than his opponent while winning a majority of the electoral vote.
• First president to visit Austria, Costa Rica, Venezuela and Ireland while in office.
• First president to receive a Presidential Medal of Freedom (awarded posthumously on December 6, 1963).
• First president to receive the Navy and Marine Corps Medal, awarded for his heroism as commanding officer of Motor Torpedo Boat PT-109 when the ship was rammed and sunk by the Japanese destroyer Amagiri in 1943.
• First president to receive the Purple Heart, awarded in 1943 after he was wounded in action aboard PT-109.