| John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Jr. | |
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John F. Kennedy Jr. greets invited guests at the HBO and Imagine Entertainment premiere held at Kennedy Space Center in 1998 |
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| Born | John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Jr. November 25, 1960 Washington, D.C. |
| Died | July 16, 1999 (aged 38) Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Martha's Vineyard |
| Other names | JFK, Jr. John, Jr. John-John Junior |
| Alma mater | Brown University New York University |
| Occupation | Journalist, lawyer, pilot magazine publisher |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Spouse | Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy (m. 1996–1999) |
| Parents | John F. Kennedy Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis |
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Jr. (November 25, 1960 – July 16, 1999), often referred to as John F. Kennedy, Jr., JFK Jr., John Jr. or John-John, was an American socialite, magazine publisher, lawyer, and pilot. The elder son of U.S. President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy, Kennedy died in a plane crash along with his wife Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy and his sister-in-law Lauren Bessette, on July 16, 1999.
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John F. Kennedy Jr. was born at Georgetown University Hospital sixteen days after his father was elected to the presidency. The younger Kennedy was in the public spotlight from his father's inauguration as President of the United States in 1961 until his own death in 1999. He had an older sister, Caroline, and a younger brother, Patrick, who died two days after birth in 1963. For most of the first three years of his life, he lived in the White House. His nickname "John-John" came from a reporter who misheard JFK calling him ("John" spoken twice in quick succession). Though he was often referred to publicly as "John-John", members of the Kennedy family themselves did not use the nickname. [1]
John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, and his funeral was held three days later, on John Jr's third birthday. In a moment that became an emotional and iconic image of the 1960s, young JFK Jr. stepped forward and rendered a final salute as the flag-draped casket was carried out from St. Matthew's Cathedral.[2] Following his father's assassination, Kennedy grew up on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, and in 1968, his mother Jacqueline married Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis, whom she had met in the early 1950s.[3] Their marriage lasted until Aristotle Onassis' death in 1975. Jacqueline died of cancer on May 19, 1994, at the age of 64.
Kennedy attended the Collegiate School in New York City from third through tenth grades, and later graduated from Phillips Academy (also known as Andover). Kennedy graduated from Brown University in 1983 with a bachelor's degree in history.
After Brown, Kennedy took a working break, traveling to India and spending some time at the University of Delhi, where he met Mother Teresa. He also worked with some of the Kennedy special interest projects, including the East Harlem School at Exodus House and Reaching Up. From 1984–86 he worked for the New York City Office of Business Development. He served as deputy director of the 42nd Street Development Corporation in 1986. He also did a bit of acting during that time, an activity which had been one of his passions; he appeared in many plays while at Brown.
Generally considered handsome and athletic, Kennedy was dubbed People magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" in 1988, and was the only person so named who was not a working actor.
In 1989, Kennedy earned a J.D. degree from the New York University School of Law.[4] He failed the New York bar exam twice before passing on the third try in July 1990.[5] Kennedy then served as a prosecutor in the Manhattan district attorney's office for four years.[6]
In 1995, Kennedy and New York public relations magnate Michael J. Berman founded George, a glossy politics-as-lifestyle monthly which sometimes took editorial aim even at members of his own family. Kennedy controlled 50 percent of the company's shares. After Kennedy's death, the magazine was bought out by Hachette Filipacchi Magazines,[7] his partners in George, and continued for over a year. With falling advertising sales,[7] the magazine folded in early 2001.[8] Before his death, however, Kennedy had conceded that he "might have to wind it up by the end of the year".[9]
Kennedy married Carolyn Bessette on September 21, 1996, on Cumberland Island, Georgia.[10] His older sister Caroline acted as the matron of honor and his cousin Anthony Stanislas Radziwill was his best man.[11]
On July 16, 1999, Kennedy along with his wife Carolyn and sister-in-law Lauren were reported missing when the Piper Saratoga II HP he was piloting failed to arrive at its planned destination after Kennedy checked in with the FAA Tower at the Martha's Vineyard Airport in Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts. A search commenced more than 15 hours later to locate the trio, ending on July 21 when their bodies were discovered and returned to land. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that the plane had crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off Martha's Vineyard and the probable cause was pilot error: "Kennedy's failure to maintain control of the airplane during a descent over water at night, which was a result of spatial disorientation."[12] Kennedy was not qualified to fly a plane by "instruments only," though the crash occurred in conditions not legally requiring it. Their ashes were scattered from the Navy ship USS Briscoe off the coast of Martha's Vineyard.[13]
Kennedy was initiated into into Phi Psi, a local, unaffiliated social fraternity while an undergraduate at Brown. In 1984 Phi Psi joined the national Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity and became known as the Rhode Island Alpha Chapter of Phi Kappa Psi (which was the organization's name from 1902 to 1978).[14]
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Harry Hamlin |
People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive 1988 |
Succeeded by Sean Connery |
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