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| 1917 | Birth |  |
| 2nd May Brookline Birth of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Brookline, Mass. |
| 1940 | Publication | |
| Publication of, "Why England Slept", problems with dictators before World War II |
| 1946 | Election | |
| Massachusetts Elected Member of the House of Representitives |
| 1947 | Election | |
| Massachusetts Elected Congress man for Massachusetts 1947-1953 |
| 1952 | Election | |
| Elected Member of the Senate |
| 1953 | Marriage | |
| 12th Sep Marries Jacqueline Bouvier |
| 1957 | Minister of Foreign Affairs | |
| Appointed Member of the Foreign Relations Committee |
| 1957 | Pulitzer Prize | |
| Washington Winner of the Pullitzer Prize for "Profiles In Courage" |
| 1960 | Diplomacy | |
| Washington Agrees to a "neutral & independent" Laos at Geneva |
| Geneva At Geneva refuses to accept the neutrality of Sth Vietnam |
| Washington Warned by de Gaulle that Vietnam is a "bottomless military & political swamp" |
| 1960 | Election | |
| 26th Sep During a televised debate with Kennedy Nixon appears drawn & makes the mistake of using "lazy shave" face powder |
| 8th Nov Defeats Richard Nixon by 49.9% to 49.6% of the popular vote |
| 1960 | Military Aid Sth Vietnam | |
| Washington Increases personnel in Sth Vietnam to over 16,000 & permits them to go into combat |
| 1960 | President | |
| 11th July Appointed Presidential candidate for the Democratic Party |
| 8th Nov Appointed President of the USA, 35th President |
| 8th Nov Becomes the youngest ever President & the 1st Catholic |
| 8th Nov Defeats Richard Nixon by 49.9% to 49.6% of the popular vote |
| 1960 | TV Election Debate | |
| 26th Sep During a televised debate with Kennedy Nixon appears drawn & makes the mistake of using "lazy shave" face powder |
| 1961 | Aid to Laos | |
| Washington Commits $20 billion to the "sister republics" in aid to Latin America over 10 yrs |
| 1961 | Aid to Latin America | |
| Washington Commits $20 billion to the "sister republics" in aid to Latin America over 10 yrs |
| 1961 | Aid to Vietnam | |
| 11th Oct Bien Hoa Kennedy authorizes fighter bomber trainers to the Bien Hoa Air Base |
| 11th Oct Saigon Kennedy sends General Taylor & advisers to discuss troop support for Diem |
| Dec 300 USAhelicopter pilots in "Eagle Flight" units arrive in Vietnam |
| 1961 | Atlantic Free Trade Zone | |
| Washington Passes the Trade Expansion Act to try & establish an Atlantic Free Trade Zone |
| 1961 | Bay of Pigs | |
| The Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations had judged that Castro's policies including the expropriation of USAassets on the island and Cuba's increasing ties with the Soviet Union could not be tolerated |
| Vetoes the CIA plan to provide air support for the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba |
| 17th April Bomber aircraft displaying Cuban Fuerza Aerea Revolucionaria markings bomb the Cuban airfields of San Antonio de Los Ba¤os, Antonio Maceo International Airport, and the airfield at Ciudad Libertad |
| 17th April Bombing prior to the Bay of Pigs landing fails because the airstrikes are not continued as originally planned, limited by decisions at the highest level of USAgovernment |
| 17th April Four 2,400-ton chartered transports (named the Houston, Rio Escondido, Caribe, and Atlantico) transported 1,511 Cuban exiles to the Bay of Pigs on the Southern coast of Cuba |
| 17th April Kennedy decides against giving the faltering invasion USAair support (though four USApilots were killed in Cuba during the invasion) because of his opposition to overt intervention |
| 17th April Operation Puma, the code name given to the offensive counter air attacks against the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces, called for 48 hours of air strikes |
| 1961 | Conference of Vienna | |
| June Vienna Kennedy attends a summit with Premier Khrushchev in Vienna to discuss cold war confrontations between the east & west, in particular the situation in Berlin |
| June Vienna Kennedy & Khrushchev meet to avoid direct confrontation between USA & Russia |
| June Vienna Russia & the USA agree to enforce a truce within their areas of influence |
| June Vienna The failure of the two leaders to resolve any of their differences during the summit led Khrushchev to view Kennedy as a weak president |
| 1961 | Cuban Missile Crisis | |
| Washington B-52 & B-47 nuclear bombers placed on crisis footing & half are on a 15 minute alert |
| 1961 | Cuban Project | |
| 5th June The Kennedy administration continues covert operations against Cuba, later launching the Cuban Project to "help Cuba overthrow the Communist regime". |
| 1961 | Diplomacy | |
| Washington Commits $20 billion to the "sister republics" in aid to Latin America over 10 yrs |
| 23rd Mar "the security of South East Asia will be endagered if Laos loses its independence" |
| 5th June London Elizabeth II entertains President Kennedy |
| 5th June London The Kennedy administration continues covert operations against Cuba, later launching the Cuban Project to "help Cuba overthrow the Communist regime". |
| 1961 | Discovery of Moon | |
| Washington "The goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon" |
| 1961 | Farm Gate | |
| Oct Bien Hoa B-26s & SC-47s are redesignated as "reconnaissance bombers" |
| 16th Dec Bien Hoa Farm Gate aircraft are authorized to fly combat missions |
| 1961 | Inauguarion of Kennedy | |
| 20th Jan Washington Inaugurated President of the USA, 35th President, youngest ever President |
| 1961 | Independence | |
| 23rd Mar "the security of South East Asia will be endagered if Laos loses its independence" |
| 1961 | Invasion of Cuba | |
| As a result of the failure, CIA director Allen Dulles , deputy CIA director Charles Cabell, and Deputy Director of Operations Richard Bissell were all forced to resign |
| Permits the CIA invasion of Cuba but refuses to supply conventional USAforces |
| Vetoes the CIA plan to provide air support for the Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba |
| 17th Feb Kennedy asked Asks advisors whether the toppling of Castro might be related to weapon shipments and if it was possible to claim the real targets were modern fighter aircraft and rockets which endangered America's securit |
| 17th April Bomber aircraft displaying Cuban Fuerza Aerea Revolucionaria markings bomb the Cuban airfields of San Antonio de Los Ba¤os, Antonio Maceo International Airport, and the airfield at Ciudad Libertad |
| 17th April Bombing prior to the Bay of Pigs landing fails because the airstrikes are not continued as originally planned, limited by decisions at the highest level of USAgovernment |
| 17th April Four 2,400-ton chartered transports (named the Houston, Rio Escondido, Caribe, and Atlantico) transported 1,511 Cuban exiles to the Bay of Pigs on the Southern coast of Cuba |
| 17th April Kennedy decides against giving the faltering invasion USAair support (though four USApilots were killed in Cuba during the invasion) because of his opposition to overt intervention |
| 17th April Operation Puma, the code name given to the offensive counter air attacks against the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces, called for 48 hours of air strikes |
| 20th April The invasion force of Cuban exiles has been killed or captured by Castro |
| 1961 | Invasion of Laos | |
| April Kennedy suggests reconnaissance spying flights using Laotian markings |
| 1961 | Minuteman | |
| Washington Announces doubled Minuteman production |
| 1961 | Mobilization | |
| USAbacking includes new equipment and more than 3,000 military advisors |
| 11th Oct Saigon Kennedy sends General Taylor & advisers to discuss troop support for Diem |
| 11th Dec USAhelicopters arrive at docks in South Vietnam along with 400 USApersonnel |
| 1961 | Moon Landing | |
| "The goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon" |
| 1961 | NATO | |
| 25th July Calls for an extra $3.25 billion in defense spending & an increase in USA& NATO forces |
| 1961 | Nuclear Warfare | |
| Announces doubled Minuteman production |
| B-52 & B-47 nuclear bombers placed on crisis footing & half are on a 15 minute alert |
| 1961 | Peace | |
| 28th Jan Announces plans for a corps of volunteers to improve conditions in undeveloped nations |
| 1st Mar Announces the Peace Corps has been created |
| 22nd Sep Washington Signs a law making the Peace Corps permanent |
| 1961 | Polaris | |
| Announces the Polaris building program will be doubled for the year |
| 1961 | Puma | |
| 17th April Bombing prior to the Bay of Pigs landing fails because the airstrikes are not continued as originally planned, limited by decisions at the highest level of USAgovernment |
| 17th April Operation Puma, the code name given to the offensive counter air attacks against the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces, called for 48 hours of air strikes |
| 1961 | Siege of Berlin | |
| 3rd June Berlin Khruschev threatens to settle with East Germany if a peace treaty is not agreed |
| 25th July Berlin Announces on TV Berlin had become "the great testing place of Western courage & will" |
| Sep Berlin Increases the USAgarrison in Berlin by 1,500 |
| 1961 | Trade Expansion Act | |
| Washington Passes the Trade Expansion Act to try & establish an Atlantic Free Trade Zone |
| 1962 | Agreement Geneva | |
| 5th Oct Geneva Following the Geneva Agreement military advisers & technicians are withdrawn from Laos |
| 1962 | Aid to Vietnam | |
| May 5,000 troops are present in Sth Vietnam |
| 1962 | Bay of Pigs | |
| 21st Dec Castro and James Donovan, a U.S. lawyer sign an agreement to exchange the 1,113 prisoners for $53 million USAdollars in food and medicine, the money is raised privately |
| 1962 | Blockade of Cuba | |
| 22nd Oct Washington Orders a weapons blockade of Cuba because of its Soviet missile sites |
| 1962 | Chopper | |
| 12th Jan Saigon USAhelicopters ferry 1,000 South Vietnamese soldiers to sweep an NFL stroghold |
| 1962 | Cuban Missile Crisis | |
| Oct Khrushchev authorizes his Soviet field commanders in Cuba to launch their tactical nuclear weapons if invaded by USAforces |
| 15th Oct A U-2 reconnaissance aircraft, piloted by Richard Heyser, reveals several SS-4 nuclear missiles in Cuba |
| 17th Oct After learning of the missiles during breakfast, President Kennedy convenes his Executive Committee (EX-COMM) to consider USAoptions |
| 19th Oct Kennedy advises Soviet Foreign Minister Andrie Gromyko the USAwill not tolerate Soviet missiles in Cuba, Gromyko denies the presence of any Soviet missiles |
| 22nd Oct Kennedy informs the world that the Soviet Union was building secret missile bases in Cuba, a mere 90 miles off the shores of Florida |
| 22nd Oct Kennedy orders a naval quarantine of Cuba in order to prevent Russian ships from bringing additional missiles & construction materials |
| 22nd Oct Kennedy orders Khrushchev to remove all the missile bases and their deadly contents |
| 22nd Oct Washington Orders a weapons blockade of Cuba because of its Soviet missile sites |
| 23rd Oct Reconnaissance photos reveal that Soviet missiles are poised for launch |
| 23rd Oct The Organization of American States unanimously supports the USAdecision to quarantine Cuba &, by the end of the day, all naval vessels are in place |
| 25th Oct American military forces are instructed to set DEFCON 2 - the highest ever in USAhistory |
| 25th Oct Kennedy asserts that the quarantine has already been successful since the USSR has already turned back fourteen ships presumably carrying offensive weapons |
| 26th Oct Krushchev sends a letter to Kennedy suggesting that the sites would be dismantled if the United States gave its reassurance that it would not invade Cuba |
| 28th Oct Washington Khruschev removes the missiles but on the understanding the USA does not invade Cuba |
| 28th Oct The Russian Premier concedes to Kennedy's demands by ordering all Soviet supply ships away from Cuban waters and agreeing to remove the missiles from Cuba |
| 28th Oct Welcomes Krushchev's offer to remove missiles from Cuba |
| 1962 | Diplomacy | |
| 10th Oct Berlin A Congress ional resolution affirms the rights of western nations in Berlin |
| 21st Dec Castro and James Donovan, a U.S. lawyer sign an agreement to exchange the 1,113 prisoners for $53 million USAdollars in food and medicine, the money is raised privately |
| 1962 | Farm Gate | |
| 13th Jan Farm Gate aircraft fly their 1st combat mission |
| 1962 | Government | |
| The USA& Russia withdraw their tanks from the Berlin Wall |
| 12th May Orders the 7th Fleet to Indochina after Pathet Lao overuns most of Northern Laos |
| 17th July Senate rejects medicare for the aged |
| 23rd July An greement signed by 14 nations guarentees the neutrality & independence of Laos |
| 5th Oct Following the Geneva Agreement military advisers & technicians are withdrawn from Laos |
| 10th Oct A Congress ional resolution affirms the rights of western nations in Berlin |
| 22nd Oct Orders a weapons blockade of Cuba because of its Soviet missile sites |
| 28th Oct Khruschev removes the missiles but on the understanding the USA does not invade Cuba |
| 28th Oct Welcomes Krushchev's offer to remove missiles from Cuba |
| 1962 | Independence | |
| 23rd July An greement signed by 14 nations guarentees the neutrality & independence of Laos |
| 1962 | Invasion of Cuba | |
| 21st Dec Castro and James Donovan, a U.S. lawyer sign an agreement to exchange the 1,113 prisoners for $53 million USAdollars in food and medicine, the money is raised privately |
| 1962 | Invasion of Laos | |
| 12th May Orders the 7th Fleet to Indochina after Pathet Lao overuns most of Northern Laos |
| 1962 | Neutrality of Laos | |
| 23rd July An greement signed by 14 nations guarentees the neutrality & independence of Laos |
| 1962 | Nuclear Warfare | |
| 17th July The USAperforms nuclear tests at the Nevada test site |
| 1962 | Occupation Laos | |
| 5th Oct Following the Geneva Agreement military advisers & technicians are withdrawn from Laos |
| 1962 | Operation Ranchand | |
| Forests are sprayed with "Agent Orange," an herbicide containing deadly dioxin |
| The goal is to clear vegetation alongside highways to prevent Vietcong concealment |
| 2nd Feb Bombing trails used by the Viet Cong, 6 million acres treated with herbicides by 1971 |
| 1962 | Siege of Berlin | |
| Berlin The USA& Russia withdraw their tanks from the Berlin Wall |
| 1962 | Space Race | |
| 20th Feb Appears on USATV & states that in space America must "be in a position 2nd to none" |
| 20th Feb Washington States on TV that in space America must "be in a position 2nd to none" |
| 1962 | Treaty of Washington | |
| 23rd July Washington An greement signed by 14 nations guarentees the neutrality & independence of Laos |
| 1963 | Alliance | |
| Washington Sends 3,000 troops to Thailand on the Laos border to counter Vietcong insurgence |
| 1963 | Assassination | |
| Arlington Representatives from over 90 countries, including the Soviet Union, attend the funeral, after the service, the casket is taken by caisson to Arlington National Cemetery for burial |
| 1st Nov Washington Kennedy approves a coup by Sth Vietnamese Army officers & Diem is assassinated |
| 19th Nov Dallas The motorcade route is described in both Dallas newspapers |
| 19th Nov Dallas The motorcade route is published is published in both Dallas newspapers |
| 21st Nov Parkland Hospital A few minutes after 2:00 p.m. CST (20:00 UTC), and after a confrontation between Dallas police and Secret Service agents, Kennedy's body is placed in a casket and taken from Parkland Hospital and driven to Air Force One |
| 21st Nov Dallas At 1:00 p.m., CST (19:00 UTC), after all heart activity had ceased and after a priest administered the last rites, the President is pronounced dead |
| 21st Nov Parkland Hospital The body is removed before a forensic examination can be conducted by the Dallas County coroner, which violated Texas state law (the murder was a state crime, and occurred under Texas legal jurisdiction) |
| 22nd Nov Bethesda Naval Hospital After Air Force One lands at Andrews Air Force Base, just outside Washington, D.C., Kennedy's body is taken to Bethesda Naval Hospital for an immediate autopsy |
| 22nd Nov Dallas Assassinated while on a Presidential campaign |
| 22nd Nov Dallas The Warren Commission later concludes that Lee Harvey Oswald is the lone assassin |
| 1963 | Autopsy of Kennedy | |
| 22nd Nov Bethesda Naval Hospital After Air Force One lands at Andrews Air Force Base, just outside Washington, D.C., Kennedy's body is taken to Bethesda Naval Hospital for an immediate autopsy |
| 1963 | Burial | |
| 25th Nov Arlington Representatives from over 90 countries, including the Soviet Union, attend the funeral, after the service, the casket is taken by caisson to Arlington National Cemetery for burial |
| 1963 | Charter of Democracy | |
| Punt del Este The USA& 22 Latin American countries sign a charter defending democracy |
| 1963 | Coup d'Etat | |
| 1st Nov Washington Kennedy approves a coup by Vietnamese Army officers during which Diem is assassinated |
| 1963 | Death | |
| 22nd Nov Dallas Death of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, assassinated |
| 1963 | Diplomacy | |
| Punt del Este The USA& 22 Latin American countries sign a charter for "democratic government" |
| 26th June Berlin Kennedy visits West Berlin "Ich bin ein Berliner" (I am a Berliner) |
| 1963 | Nuclear Pact | |
| Washington France refuses to join the Anglo-American nuclear pact |
| 1963 | Nuclear Warfare | |
| Agrees to sell Polaris to Britain |
| Washington Agrees to sell Polaris to Britain |
| France refuses to join the Anglo-American nuclear pact |
| Washington France refuses to join the Anglo-American nuclear pact |
| 1963 | Speech | |
| 26th June Berlin Kennedy visits West Berlin "Ich bin ein Berliner" (I am a Berliner) |
| 1963 | Warren Commission | |
| 22nd Nov Dallas The Warren Commission later concludes that Lee Harvey Oswald is the lone assassin |
