She was able to feel the way the lips
moved and the throat vibrated. At the
same time someone spelled out the
words that were being spoken.
Keller graduated from Radcliffe College
in 1904. Then she wrote magazine
articles and books about blindness.
Keller also gave many speeches. Some
people had trouble understanding her,
so she took along another person who
repeated her words. Keller died inWestport,
Connecticut, on June 1, 1968.
#More to explore
Blindness • Braille • Deafness
Helen Keller
Helen Keller touches the face of Anne Sullivan,
her remarkable teacher. Keller learned
to speak partly by feeling how people’s lips
move when they talk.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Keller, Helen 53
Kennedy, John F.
John F. Kennedy was the 35th president
of the United States. He was the youngest
person ever elected to the presidency.
Kennedy was a very popular leader. His
assassination in 1963 shocked the country
and the world.
Early Life
John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born on
May 29, 1917, in Brookline, Massachusetts.
He was the second of nine children
born to Joseph and Rose Kennedy. Both
his grandfathers had been in state politics.
His father held government posts
under President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
In 1940 Kennedy graduated from Harvard
University. DuringWorldWar II he
joined the U.S. Navy. He commanded a
torpedo boat in the Pacific Ocean. It was
sunk by a Japanese destroyer. Although
he was seriously hurt, Kennedy led his
crew to safety. For this he earned a
medal for heroism.
Political Career
In 1946 Massachusetts voters elected
Kennedy, a Democrat, to the U.S.
House of Representatives. In 1952
Kennedy was elected to the U.S. Senate.
During his two terms he fought for
labor reform and civil rights. While he
was a senator Kennedy married Jacqueline
Lee Bouvier. They had two children.
He also published the book Profiles
in Courage (1956), about great U.S.
leaders.
Presidency
Kennedy ran for president in the 1960
election. He defeated his Republican
opponent, Richard M. Nixon. In his
speech on the day he took office
Kennedy asked citizens to help make the
United States a better place. He said,
“Ask not what your country can do for
you—ask what you can do for your
country.”
Kennedy took office during the Cold
War, a time of tension between the
United States and the Soviet Union, a
Communist nation. He promised to
stop the spread of Communism. He sent
military advisers, money, and supplies to
fight Communists in Vietnam. In 1961
he supported rebels who wanted to overthrow
the Communist government of
Cuba. The rebels’ invasion at the Bay of
Pigs in Cuba failed, however.
A serious crisis of the ColdWar took
place in October 1962. The United
John F. Kennedy was the 35th president of
the United States.
54 Kennedy, John F. BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
States discovered that the Soviet Union
was building nuclear missile bases in
Cuba, which is very close to the U.S.
state of Florida. Kennedy saw this as a
threat to the United States. He ordered
U.S. warships to Cuba. For 13 days
nuclear war seemed near. Finally the
Soviets agreed to remove the weapons.
The next year the United States, the
Soviet Union, and Great Britain signed
the Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty. It banned
most nuclear testing.
Meanwhile, Kennedy proposed programs
to help people both at home and
in other countries. He sought to lower
unemployment, provide medical care for
the aged, reduce taxes, and protect civil
rights. Kennedy also supported exploration
of the moon. Congress approved
several of his projects, including the
Peace Corps, a volunteer service to help
other countries in their development
efforts. Other plans did not pass until
after Kennedy’s death.
Assassination
During his campaign for reelection,
Kennedy visited Dallas, Texas, on
November 22, 1963. He and his wife
were riding through the city in an open
car when shots rang out. Bullets hit the
president in the neck and the head. He
died shortly after he was brought to the
hospital.Within hours Vice President
Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as
president.
Police arrested Lee Harvey Oswald for
the shooting. Jack Ruby, a nightclub
owner, killed Oswald before he could go
on trial. Some people thought that a
secret group had planned Kennedy’s
assassination. Johnson ordered an investigation.
TheWarren Commission was
formed to examine the evidence. It
decided that Oswald had acted alone.
#More to explore
Civil Rights • ColdWar • Johnson,
Lyndon B. • Nixon, Richard M. • Peace
Corps • United States
May 29, November 22,
1917 1960 1961 1961 1962 1963 1963
Kennedy is
born in
Brookline,
Massachusetts.
Kennedy is
elected
president.
A U.S.-backed
invasion of
Cuba at the
Bay of Pigs
fails.
Congress
approves the
Peace Corps.
Cuban missile
crisis almost
leads to
nuclear war.
Agreement to
end most
testing of
nuclear
weapons is
signed.
Kennedy is
assassinated in
Dallas, Texas.
T I M E L I N E
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Kennedy, John F. 55
Kentucky
In 1792 Kentucky became the
first U.S. territory west of the
Appalachian Mountains to gain
statehood. The capital of Kentucky is
Frankfort.
The state probably took its name from a
Native American word meaning “meadowland”
