Hello & welcome to another edition of the GK Nugget. This
weekend we’re talking about one of my favourite politicians (yes, there are
some likeable ones too), who passed away too young. He was the leader of one of
the superpowers of the world and 29th May 2017 was his 100th
birth anniversary. I’m talking about John Fitzgerald Kennedy, famously known as
JFK.
JFK was the 35th President of the USA from
January 1961 up until 22nd November 1963, when he was assassinated.
He was the youngest president of the country and also the youngest to die.
JFK’s inaugural address had him reach out to all Americans
– “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your
country” – a line that is till date quoted in essays written by school and
college going children.
JFK led the US at the height of the Arms Race with Russia
and also during the critical Cuban missile crisis. (In October 1962, U.S. spy
planes discovered that Soviet missile bases had been deployed in Cuba; the
resulting period of tensions, termed the Cuban Missile Crisis, nearly resulted
in the breakout of a global nuclear war.)
The 60s was the decade of the space race between the 2
super powers, and JFK was the President who gave direction to the American
Space agency (NASA) to win the race by putting a man on the moon.
At a joint session of Congress on May 25, 1961, he
announced the ambitious goal of putting an American on the moon before the end
of the decade.
Unfortunately, JFK did not live to see his dream being
fulfilled when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin set foot on the moon on July 20,
1969.
It is believed that on that date, an anonymous citizen
placed flowers on JFK’s grave with a note that read “Mr. President, the Eagle
has landed.”
JFK’s assassination rocked America like no other event
since the attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941 & 9/11 after it. His assassination was the first major TV news
event of its kind. All three major U.S. television networks suspended their
regular schedules and switched to all-news coverage from November 22 through
November 26, 1963, being on the air for 70 hours, making it the longest
uninterrupted news event on American TV until 9/11.
While the authorities concluded that JFK was assassinated
by a lone gunman (Lee Harry Oswald), conspiracy theories are to this day discussed.
A relatively unknown fact: In 1955, while recuperating
from a back operation, JFK wrote Profiles in Courage, which won the Pulitzer
Prize in history.
He married Jacqueline Bouvier in September 1953. The power couple had an active social life and
was famous for their stylish attire and for being trendsetters.
Kennedy gave all his $100,000-a-year White House salary
to charity.
One of America’s busiest international airports – John F. Kennedy international airport in New York is named after him, as is the John F.
Kennedy Space Center in Florida – the center that manages and operates America's
astronaut launch facilities.
As thousands turned out to remember JFK on his 100th
birthday this week, it’s anyone’s guess about what path American history would
have taken had JFK completed his presidential term.
That’s all on this weekend’s GK Nugget. See you next
time.