More about JFK and Jackie Kennedy’s children
JFK and Jackie Kennedy had a total of four children. Their first child, Arabella, was stillborn. They had three children who survived infancy: Caroline, John Jr., and Patrick. JFK Jr. died in a plane crash in 1999.
The couple’s first child, Arabella, was born prematurely and died shortly after birth. In 1957, their daughter Caroline was born. John Jr. was born in 1960, and Patrick in 1963.
Patrick died at two days old from an infection related to his premature birth. JFK Jr.’s death in 1999 left Caroline as the only surviving child of JFK and Jackie Kennedy.
How did JFK and Jackie Kennedy meet?
JFK and Jackie Kennedy met while JFK was serving in the Navy. JFK was stationed in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, and Jackie was living with her family in nearby Boston. They began dating in November 1953, after Jackie had finished her sophomore year at George Washington University. JFK proposed to Jackie in June 1954, and they were married on September 12, 1954, in Newport, Rhode Island. The couple had three children together and remained married until JFK’s assassination in November 1963.
Jackie Kennedy after JFK
After JFK’s assassination, Jackie Kennedy moved to New York City and started a new life. She worked as a book editor for Doubleday & Company and later became a socialite and fashion icon. JFK’s death had a profound impact on her and she struggled with alcoholism and depression in the years following his assassination.
In 1968, she married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis. The couple had two children, Alexander and Christina. Jackie Kennedy Onassis died in 1994 at the age of 64.
Vintage Voices: What Did They Say?
A famous Jackie Kennedy quote is…
“If you bungle raising your children, I don’t think whatever else you do matters very much.”
– Jaqueline Kennedy Onassis
5 little known facts about JFK and Jackie Kennedy
1) JFK was seriously injured during his time serving in the Navy, and he nearly lost his leg.
2) JFK had a close relationship with his younger brother Robert Kennedy, who went on to become Senator and Attorney General.
3) JFK was inspired by Abraham Lincoln and often used Lincoln quotes in speeches.
4) JFK secretly ordered the CIA to steal Soviet nuclear warheads when it became clear that the US might be losing the space race to the Soviets.
5) JFK suffered from Addison’s Disease throughout much of his life, which required him to take regular doses of steroid medication. This illness may have contributed to JFK’s health problems later in life.
