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John F. Kennedy was 43 years old when he won the U.S. presidential election in 1960, becoming the youngest man to be elected to the office. His life was cut short by an assassin's bullet in 1963. Hank Walker/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Kennedy survived myriad health problems as a child, including scarlet fever. In this 1927 photo, JFK -- known as "Jack" -- is 10 years old. Hulton Archive/Archive Photos/Getty Images
JFK came from a large, prominent Irish Catholic family, seen here at their summer home in Hyannis, Massachusetts, in the 1930s. He had eight brothers and sisters. Seated from left are Robert, Edward, father Joseph Sr., Eunice, Rosemary and Kathleen. Standing from left are Joseph Jr., JFK, mother Rose, Jean and Patricia. Bachrach/Getty Images
Kennedy attended Choate boarding school in Connecticut, where he was popular and played a variety of sports. He's pictured here on the school's football team at age 16. He graduated and entered Harvard University in 1936. Boston Globe/AP
Kennedy enlisted in the military shortly after graduating from Harvard in 1939. As a Navy lieutenant in World War II, Kennedy commanded a torpedo boat in the South Pacific and survived a harrowing crash with a Japanese vessel that killed two of his men. He later earned a medal for rescuing most of his crew. His older brother Joe died in the war on a separate mission. Frank Turgent/Archive Photos/Getty Images
After some convincing by his father, JFK decided to run for U.S. Congress, representing Massachusetts' 11th district. He won in 1946 and served three terms before winning a Senate seat in 1952. Yale Joel/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images
In September 1953, shortly after becoming a U.S. senator, Kennedy, then 36, married 24-year-old Jacqueline Bouvier, a writer with the Washington Times-Herald. Lisa Larsen/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Kennedy ran for president in 1960 and faced Vice President Richard Nixon after securing the Democratic Party's nomination. The candidates participated in the first televised presidential debate, which is widely seen as instrumental in securing Kennedy's victory. Francis Miller/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Kennedy was sworn into office as the 35th President on January 20, 1961. Kennedy was not only the youngest man elected President, but he was also the first Catholic elected President. Paul Schutzer/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Kennedy and his wife stand at the 1960 inauguration with his parents on the left. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson and his wife, Lady Bird, are on the right. During his inaugural speech, Kennedy spoke these memorable words: "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." Hulton Archive/Getty Images
The Kennedys moved into the White House with their two young children, John and Caroline. John is seen here shortly after his November 1960 birth. Caroline was 3.
AFP/Getty Images
AFP/Getty Images
The Kennedy family brought a youthful vigor to the White House and captured the American people's fascination. The Kennedy presidency would later be referred to as "Camelot." John F. Kennedy Library/Archive Photos/Getty Images
Actress Marilyn Monroe delivers a sultry rendition of "Happy Birthday" at Kennedy's 45th birthday celebration in May 1962. It was her last major public appearance before her death three months later. The star was long rumored to have had an affair with Kennedy. Yale Joel/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Kennedy deemed civil rights a "moral issue" in June 1963, stating that America "will not be fully free until all its citizens are free." Here, he stands with civil rights leaders who organized the 1963 March on Washington, including Martin Luther King Jr. on the far left. Three Lions/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
In May 1961, Kennedy urged Congress to send a man to the moon by the end of the decade. Here, he emerges from inside a model of the Apollo space capsule during a tour of the Manned Space Center -- now the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center -- in Houston. Bob Gomel/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images
On November 22, 1963, Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas by Lee Harvey Oswald, who was fatally gunned down by Jack Ruby two days later. In this photo, Kennedy flinches as the bullet strikes him in the head. ullstein bild/Getty Images
John F. Kennedy Jr., age 3, salutes his father's flag-draped casket in this iconic image taken at the President's funeral procession in Washington. Dan Farrell/NY Daily News Archive/Getty Images
John F. Kennedy Jr. went on to become a successful attorney and magazine publisher before his death at age 38. He and his wife, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, were killed in a plane crash in July 1999. JFK Jr. was piloting the plane when it crashed off the Massachusetts coast. Carolyn's sister also died. MANNY CENETA/AFP/Getty Images
Today, Caroline Kennedy serves as the United States ambassador to Japan under President Barack Obama. She is seen here at a 2011 event honoring her late father's inauguration with Vice President Joe Biden, left, and then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images
