John F Kennedy The Kennedy Family great-grandparents President Kennedy’s immigrated to the United States from Ireland in 1858 They settled in Boston Mass His grandfathers Patrick J Kennedy and John F Honey Fitz Fitzgerald were born there Both men became influential in state politics Honey Fitz served several terms as Boston’s mayor and as a member of the United States House of Representatives Patrick Kennedy was the powerful boss of a Boston politi cal ward and served in both houses of the Massachusetts legislature Patrick’s son Joseph was a brilliant mathematician At the age of 25 he became the youngest bank president in the United States His fortune continued to grow and he was one of the few financiers to sense before hand the stock market crash of 1929 He made hundreds of millions of dollars Joseph married Rose Fitzgerald daughter of Honey Fitz on Oct 7 1914 Their first child Joseph Jr was born in 1915 John was born on May 29 1917 Seven other children followed Rosemary Kathleen Eunice Patricia Robert Jean and Edward called Teddy All were born in Brookline Mass a suburb of Boston 12 12
Early Life and Career A young John F Kennedy dressed in a police officer costume Encyclopædia Britannica Inc 13 13
John F Kennedy Education and Athletics Joseph Kennedy Sr set up a million-dollar trust fund for each of his children This freed them from future financial worry and allowed them to devote their lives to public service if they desired As the children grew their par ents stressed the importance of competitive spirit One of their father’s favorite mottoes was Second place is a loser The drive to win was deeply ingrained in the children and they never did anything halfheartedly Kennedy family photo c 1931 left to right Rosemary Joseph Jr Kathleen Patricia Rose Joseph Sr Jean Eunice John Robert Encyclopædia Britannica Inc 14
Early Life and Career Right running head Their parents were careful to neglect neither the intellectual nor the physical development of the children As they grew older the children would eat their evening meals in two groups divided by age Mr and Mrs Kennedy ate at both meals This allowed them to discuss subjects that were of interest to each group All the children attended danc ing school while very young and all with the exception of Rosemary who did not take part in rough-and-tumble play loved sports activi ties The other children however thrived on John F Kennedy seated front row far right photographed with the Dexter School football team Encyclopædia Britannica Inc 15 15
