May 29, 1917: John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born in Boston, Massachusetts.

July 1940: Kennedy's book Why England Slept is published.

July 23, 1942: Assigned to sea duty during World War II.

July 27, 1942: Begins training at a midshipmen's school in Chicago.

March 28, 1943: Arrives at the Solomon Islands to begin his command of PT 109.

August 1, 1943: PT 109 is split in half by a Japanese destroyer.

August 1, 1943: Kennedy and his crew are rescued.

August 16, 1943: Returns to duty as commander of PT 59.

June 23, 1944: Has back surgery at New England Baptist Hospital in Boston.

August 12, 1944: Joe Jr. dies in a failed navy mission.

March 1, 1945: Retires with an honorable discharge from the navy.

April 28, 1945: Writes his first story for the Hearst Chicago Herald-American during the United Nations Conference in San Francisco.

November 5, 1946: Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for Massachusetts.

May 13, 1948: Kathleen Kennedy dies in an airplane crash.

November 4, 1952: Elected to the U.S. Senate.

September 12, 1953: Marries Jacqueline Bouvier at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church in Newport.

October 21, 1954: Undergoes back surgery. A metal plate is inserted for support.

February 15, 1955: Metal plate is removed from his back.

August 14, 1956: Fails to win enough delegate support for the Democratic vice presidential nomination.

August 23, 1956: Jackie gives birth to a stillborn daughter.

November 25, 1956: Decides that he will run for the Democratic presidential nomination for 1960.

May 1957: Profiles in Courage is awarded the Pulitzer Prize.

November 27, 1957: Caroline Kennedy is born in New York.

November 1958: Wins reelection to the Senate.

January 20, 1960: Announces candidacy for president in a press conference.

July 5, 1960: Lyndon B. Johnson announces that he is running for the Democratic presidential nomination.

July 13, 1960: Wins the Democratic presidential nomination.

September 26, 1960: Debates with Nixon in the first televised presidential debate.

November 8, 1960: Wins the presidential election against Richard Nixon.

November 26, 1960: John F. Kennedy Jr. is born.

January 20, 1960: Takes the presidential oath at the inauguration. He becomes the first Catholic elected U.S. president.

March 1, 1961: Signs an executive order creating the Peace Corps.

April 17, 1961: The Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba begins.

May 4, 1961: The Freedom Rides commence.

June 3, 1961: Meets with Soviet Chairman Khrushchev in Vienna.

August 13, 1961: The Berlin Wall is built between East and West Berlin.

September 22, 1961: Congress passes legislation creating the Peace Corps.

May 28, 1962: The stock market collapses.

August 13, 1962: Learns from CIA director John McCone that the Soviets may have placed offensive weapons in Cuba.

September 4, 1962: States in a press conference that there is no evidence of Soviet offensive missiles in Cuba.

October 14, 1962: Photos reveal that missile sites are being constructed in Cuba by the Soviet Union.

October 24, 1962: Orders a quarantine of Soviet weapon shipments to Cuba.

October 28, 1962: A resolution is reached with the Soviet Union for the removal of the missiles.

May 3, 1963: The civil rights demonstrators in Birmingham, Alabama, are attacked with fire hoses and police dogs.

June 19, 1963: Kennedy's civil rights legislation is presented to Congress.

June 22, 1963: Leaves for trip to Ireland, Italy, England, and West Berlin.

August 7, 1963: Jackie gives birth to five-week-premature Patrick Kennedy. He dies two days later.

September 24, 1963: Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty is passed by Congress. Kennedy signs it on October 7.

October 23, 1963: Presents a compromised civil rights bill to the House for acceptance.

October 31, 1963: Announces that one thousand troops will be pulled out of South Vietnam by the end of 1963.

November 21, 1963: Leaves for San Antonio, Texas.

November 22, 1963: Kennedy is shot at 12:30 P.M. by Lee Harvey Oswald while riding in an open limousine in downtown Dallas, Texas. He is pronounced dead at 1:00 P.M.

November 24, 1963: Lee Harvey Oswald is shot by Jack Ruby while being transferred to county jail.

November 25, 1963: Kennedy is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.