Kennedy, John Fitzgerald, Jr. (1960-1999), was the son of John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, and his wife, Jacqueline. Kennedy’s activities were widely reported throughout his life. His death in an airplane crash in 1999 shocked the nation and the world. Many people had expected him eventually to enter politics and—like his father and several other members of his family—run for a high elective office.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Jr., was born on Nov. 25, 1960, in Washington, D.C., a few weeks after his father was elected to the presidency. Three years later, his father was assassinated. A photograph of young “John-John,” as he was then called, saluting his father’s coffin was published all over the world.
Kennedy graduated from Brown University in 1983 with a bachelor’s degree in history. In 1989, he earned a law degree from New York University Law School. He served as an assistant district attorney in New York City until 1993, handling such matters as consumer fraud and landlord-tenant disputes. He cofounded the monthly political satire magazine George in 1995. The magazine ceased publication in 2001, after Kennedy’s death. In 1996, Kennedy married Carolyn Bessette, a publicist for a fashion designer.
Kennedy supported a number of charitable causes and cultural organizations. With his sister, Caroline, and his mother, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, he had established the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award for dedicated public service.
Kennedy, his wife, and his wife’s sister were killed when a plane he was piloting crashed off the Massachusetts coast on July 16, 1999.
