The Kennedy family at Hyannis Port, 1931.
A year before their ninth and final child, Edward, was born, the Kennedys posed at their summer home on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. The family's energy and exuberance, along with their rising standard of living, are readily apparent.
Image courtesy of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

John F. Kennedy's Harvard Yearbook entry, 1940.
After transferring from Princeton, and following his first years at Harvard plagued by health problems and some indifference to his studies, Jack Kennedy became a more serious student as he matured. His senior thesis was published as 'Why England Slept' in 1940, the same year he graduated from Harvard.
Image courtesy of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, with permission of Harvard University Yearbook Publications, Inc.

John F. Kennedy in the Pacific Theater of World War II, 1943.
Assigned command of a torpedo motor boat, the PT-109, Lt. Kennedy led his crew into combat, where the boat was struck and split in two by a Japanese destroyer in August of 1943, resulting in the death of two of his men. Kennedy later was instrumental in leading the survivors to safety, and his subsequent political campaigns contained many reminders of his wartime service.
Image courtesy of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

John F. Kennedy, his father Joe Kennedy, and grandfather Honey Fitz, 1946.
In 1946, John F. Kennedy ran for office for the first time. As the inheritor of the political legacy of both the Kennedy and Fitzgerald families, his campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives drew national attention. In this photo taken to accompany a story in Look magazine, both his grandfather Honey Fitz's genial encouragement, and his father's more demanding and insistent attitude are evident.
Image courtesy of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

John F. Kennedy campaigning in Nashua, New Hampshire, 1960.
Knowing that he needed to prove his viability in the primaries in order to convince party leaders of his seriousness, Kennedy got an early start on his rivals and left nothing to chance. Although he was not seriously challenged in the first primary in New Hampshire, which bordered on his home state of Massachusetts, Kennedy nonetheless campaigned there and won an early victory in his quest for Democratic nomination in 1960.
Image courtesy of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

Inauguration Day, January 20, 1961.
Having dug out from a major snowstorm, the weather in Washington was sunny and clear, if cold. Even so, John F. Kennedy took off his overcoat and top hat to take the oath of office from Chief Justice Earl Warren. He then delivered one of the most memorable presidential inaugural addresses of the twentieth century, with its idealism and energy setting the tone for his presidency.
Image courtesy of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

Watching the flight of astronaut Alan Shepard on television, May 5, 1961.
In this informal photo, President Kennedy watches the flight of Astronaut Alan Shepard, the first American in space, from the White House. With him are his wife Jacqueline, Vice President Lyndon Johnson (whom Kennedy placed in charge of the space program), presidential aide and historian Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., and Navy Admiral Arleigh Burke.
Image courtesy of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

John F. Kennedy gives a major speech at American University, June 10, 1963.
Several months after the crisis over Soviet missiles in Cuba nearly exploded into full scale nuclear war, President Kennedy used the occasion of the commencement at American University to ask his fellow citizens to rethink some of their assumptions on the Cold War. A few months later, the United States, the Soviet Union and the U.K. reached agreement on limiting nuclear tests, the first such treaty of its kind.

Meeting with civil rights leaders at the White House, August 28, 1963.
After the conclusion of the March on Washington for Freedom and Jobs, President Kennedy welcomed its leaders, including Martin Luther King, whose 'I Have a Dream Speech' was the highlight of the day. Two months previously, Kennedy had finally put the weight of his presidency behind a bill asking Congress to adopt comprehensive legislation aimed at ending legal segregation in the United States. Kennedy and his guests that day discussed strategies on how to insure that Congress would adopt that bill and move forward the cause of civil rights.
Image courtesy of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

Kennedy speaks outside the Texas Hotel in Fort Worth, Texas, November 22, 1963. Just hours from death, President Kennedy made some of his last public remarks. In more conservative Texas, he reverted to traditional Cold War themes, urging his audience to stand firm in support of the American efforts in defense matters and in the space race as part of the struggle against communism.
Image courtesy of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.