Geburtstag: 29. Mai 1917
Todesdatum: 22. November 1963
John Fitzgerald „Jack“ Kennedy , häufig auch bei seinen Initialen JFK genannt, war von 1961 bis 1963 der 35. Präsident der Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika. In seine Amtszeit während der Hochphase des Kalten Krieges fielen historische Ereignisse wie die Kubakrise, der Bau der Berliner Mauer, der Beginn der bemannten Raumfahrt, die Eskalation des Vietnamkriegs sowie die Zeit des zivilen Ungehorsams der afroamerikanischen Bürgerrechtsbewegung.
Kennedy war Mitglied der Demokratischen Partei und der erste US-Präsident römisch-katholischer Konfession. Wegen seiner Jugend und seines Charismas verkörperte er für viele die Hoffnung auf eine Erneuerung der USA. Die Hintergründe seiner Ermordung 1963 sind bis heute umstritten.
— John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Antrittsrede, 20. Januar 1961, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum: Antrittsrede des Präsidenten John Fitzgerald Kennedy
— John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Rede vor dem Schöneberger Rathaus in Berlin, 26. Juni 1963. Quelle: John F. Kennedy: Ich bin ein Berliner (1963) von Englisch Lernen Online
— John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Antrittsrede, 20. Januar 1961, John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum: Antrittsrede des Präsidenten John Fitzgerald Kennedy
— John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Rede vor dem Schöneberger Rathaus in Berlin, 26. Juni 1963. Quelle: John F. Kennedy: Ich bin ein Berliner (1963) von Englisch Lernen Online
— John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Rede vor dem Schöneberger Rathaus in Berlin, 26. Juni 1963. Quelle: dradio. de
— John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Rede vor der Vollversammlung der Vereinten Nationen am 25. September 1961 - Quelle: Dominik Geppert: Die Freiheitsglocke, in: Etienne Francois, Hagen Schulze (Hrsg.): Deutsche Erinnerungsorte 2, Beck'sche Schwarze Reihe 2009, S. 249 books. google
— John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Rede vor dem Schöneberger Rathaus in Berlin, 26. Juni 1963. Quelle: John F. Kennedy: Ich bin ein Berliner (1963) von Englisch Lernen Online
— John F. Kennedy
As quoted in Mayor (1984) by Ed Koch
— John F. Kennedy
Context: In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility — I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it — and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.
My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.
"In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility — I welcome it." is one of seven quotes inscribed on the walls at the gravesite of John F. Kennedy at Arlington National Cemetery.
"The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it — and the glow from that fire can truly light the world." is one of seven quotes inscribed on the walls at the gravesite of John F. Kennedy at Arlington National Cemetery.
"And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." is one of seven quotes inscribed on the walls at the gravesite of John F. Kennedy at Arlington National Cemetery.
It has been reported at various places on the internet that in JFK's Inaugural address, the famous line "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country", was inspired by, or even a direct quotation of the famous and much esteemed writer and poet Khalil Gibran. Gibran in 1925 wrote in Arabic a line that has been translated as:
::Are you a politician asking what your country can do for you or a zealous one asking what you can do for your country?
::If you are the first, then you are a parasite; if the second, then you are an oasis in a desert.
However, this translation of Gibran is one that occurred over a decade after Kennedy's 1961 speech, appearing in A Third Treasury of Kahlil Gibran (1975) edited by Andrew Dib Sherfan, and the translator most likely drew upon Kennedy's famous words in expressing Gibran's prior ideas. For a further discussion regarding the quote see here.
— John F. Kennedy
Address to Latin American diplomats at the White House (13 March 1962) [http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=9100&st=&st1=]
— John F. Kennedy
Context: Their platform, made up of left-over Democratic planks, has the courage of our old convictions. Their pledge is a pledge to the status quo — and today there can be no status quo.
[http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/JFK-Quotations.aspx Address Accepting the Democratic Party Nomination for the Presidency of the United States — Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles (15 July 1960)]<!-- Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project -->
— John F. Kennedy
Context: For the harsh facts of the matter are that we stand on this frontier at a turning-point in history. We must prove all over again whether this nation — or any nation so conceived — can long endure — whether our society — with its freedom of choice, its breadth of opportunity, its range of alternatives — can compete with the single-minded advance of the Communist system. Can a nation organized and governed such as ours endure? That is the real question. Have we the nerve and the will? Can we carry through in an age where we will witness not only new breakthroughs in weapons of destruction — but also a race for mastery of the sky and the rain, the ocean and the tides, the far side of space and the inside of men's minds? Are we up to the task — are we equal to the challenge? Are we willing to match the Russian sacrifice of the present for the future — or must we sacrifice our future in order to enjoy the present? That is the question of the New Frontier. That is the choice our nation must make — a choice that lies not merely between two men or two parties, but between the public interest and private comfort — between national greatness and national decline — between the fresh air of progress and the stale, dank atmosphere of "normalcy" — between determined dedication and creeping mediocrity. All mankind waits upon our decision. A whole world looks to see what we will do. We cannot fail their trust, we cannot fail to try.
