Died Today (November 22nd): John F. Kennedy (1917–1963)

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johnfkennedyJohn F. Kennedy (1917–1963)

Born: May 29, 1917 in Brookline, Massachusetts, USA
Died: November 22, 1963 (age 46) in Dallas, Texas, USA

Married to: Jacqueline Kennedy (12 September 1953 – 22 November 1963) (his death) (4 children)

[6/26/63, speech in West Berlin, Germany] Two thousand years ago, the proudest boast was “Civis Romanus sum”. Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is “Ich bin ein Berliner”. All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and, therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words “Ich bin ein Berliner!”.

I am certain that after the dust of centuries has passed over our cities, we, too, will be remembered not for victories or defeats in battle or in politics but for our contributions to the human spirit.

 [6/10/63, in a commencement address] The United States, as the world knows, will never start a war. We do not want a war. We do not now expect a war. This generation of Americans has already had enough–more than enough–of war and hate and oppression.

We shall do our part to build a world of peace where the weak are safe and the strong are just. We are not helpless before the task or hopeless of its success. Confident and unafraid, we must labor on–not towards a strategy of annihilation but towards a strategy of peace.

 [June 11, 1963] If an American, because his skin is dark, cannot eat lunch in a restaurant open to the public, if he cannot send his children to the best public school available, if he cannot vote for the public officials who will represent him, if, in short, he cannot enjoy the full and free life which all of us want, then who among us would be content to have the color of his skin changed and stand in his place? Who among us would then be content with the counsels of patience and delay?

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