On November 8 1960 John Fitzgerald Kennedy was elected the 35th President of the United States.
It is clear from later declassified medical reports that Kennedy was battling serious illnesses. Even as a young man he developed hypocorticism, also known as Addison's disease, which - if left untreated - can lead to death. Therefore, Kennedy takes cortisone, which gives him severe pain in the spine. Despite several operations, the pain continues to plague him. His personal physician, Janet Travel, gives him regular injections.
In addition, the president takes medication for intestinal disorders, antibiotics for a chronic urinary tract infection due to an untreated venereal disease, testosterone for weight loss, and Ritalin as a sleep aid.
To deal with the constant feeling of exhaustion brought on by Addison's disease and narcotics, John F. Kennedy enlisted the services of Max Jacobson, known at the time as "Dr. Feelgood".
He began preparing the president cocktails of amphetamines and unknown substances that White House doctors described as "unsafe". However, the president dismissed their warnings saying: "I don't care. Even if it's horse piss, the important thing is that it works".
This for Kennedy, and the rest is known...
John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born on May 29, 1917 in Brooklyn, Massachusetts to Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and Rosie Fitzgerald. In 1935, Kennedy graduated from the elite Choate School in Connecticut, and in 1940 he graduated with honors in international relations from Harvard. John F. Kennedy was commissioned into the Navy in 1941 and entered the Information Office of the Chief of Naval Staff. During World War II, he served as a lieutenant in the Navy stationed in the Pacific Ocean and received an official commendation for the rescue of his crew members. He left the army in early 1945, just a few months before Japan surrendered.
Kennedy married Jacqueline Lee Bouvier in 1953 and they were extremely popular as a presidential couple. Artists, writers, scientists, poets, musicians, actors, Nobel Prize winners and athletes are often invited to the White House. The couple even influence fashion trends and are often photographed for popular magazines. They have two children – Caroline and John Jr. Jacqueline miscarried in 1955, and a year later gave birth to a stillborn baby. Kennedy's name is associated with numerous extramarital affairs, including with Marilyn Monroe.
John Kennedy is the 35th and youngest president in US history. He was 43 years old when he was elected to the post. He is also the only Catholic, as well as the last American president, to die before the end of his term (he held office from January 20, 1961 until his assassination on November 22, 1963).
After World War II, Kennedy entered politics as a member of the House of Representatives. In 1952, he ran for the Senate and won by an unexpected margin of 70,000 votes over second-term Republican Henry Lodge. In 1960, Kennedy announced his intention to run for president, and the Democratic Party subsequently nominated him as its candidate in the election. Main topics during the campaign were the situation in Cuba, the stimulation of economic development, the military and space programs and the competition with the USSR. In the election of November 8, 1960, Kennedy defeated Nixon by a narrow two-tenths margin. He was sworn in as the 35th President of the United States on January 20, 1961, and in his famous speech stated: "Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask yourself what you can do for your country."
The more significant events during Kennedy's administration were: the Bay of Pigs debacle (an operation on Cuban territory to overthrow Fidel Castro), the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 (ended with an agreement with Nikita Khrushchev to withdraw the missiles from Cuba, in return for which the US promises never to invade Cuba), the building of the Berlin Wall, the early events of the Vietnam War, the civil rights movement, and the Space Race, which was crowned with success 6 years after the death of Kennedy, in 1969, when Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon. One of the greatest successes of the Kennedy administration is the 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty between the United States, Great Britain and the Soviet Union.
Kennedy is one of the most popular presidents, although there are many critics who believe his fame is undeserved. Criticism against Kennedy is primarily related to covering up his health problems, his extramarital affairs, his contacts with organized crime and America's involvement in the Vietnam War.
Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, while touring the state on November 22, 1963. The same day, Lee Harvey Oswald was charged with the president's assassination. He denied it and was fatally shot two days later at the Dallas police station by Jack Ruby. Five days after Oswald was assassinated, new President Lyndon B. Johnson created the Warren Commission to investigate the assassination. Her conclusion is that Oswald was the sole perpetrator. To this day, however, there are many theories about the assassination attempt on Kennedy, and it remains a mystery who exactly is behind his murder.