Biography of John F. Kennedy Jr.

Biography of John F. Kennedy Jr. John F. Kennedy Jr. (November 25, 1960–July 16, 1999), the son of President John F. Kennedy, was considered the heir to one of Americas greatest political dynasties until his death in a plane crash at age 38. In one of the most iconic photographs in American history, the 3-year-old Kennedy is seen saluting his fathers casket three days after the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Fast Facts: John F. Kennedy, Jr. Known For: Attorney, journalist, and son of President John F. KennedyBorn: Nov. 25, 1960 in Washington, D.C.Died: July 16, 1999 off the coast of Marthas Vineyard, MassachusettsEducation: Brown University, B.A.; New York University, J.D.Spouse: Carolyn BessetteKey Accomplishments: Criminal prosecutor in New York City, founder and publisher of George magazine, and founder of non-profit Reaching UpFamous Quote: â€Å"People often tell me I could be a great man. Id rather be a good man.† Childhood John F. Kennedy Jr. was born on November 25, 1960- the same month his father, John F. Kennedy, was elected to his first term as president. He became an instant celebrity, despite his parents attempts to give him as normal an upbringing as possible. Despite spending his first few years of life in the White House, however, Kennedy later said that he had lived a pretty normal life. Kennedy was the second of three children born to the Kennedys. His older sister was Caroline Bouvier Kennedy; his younger brother, Patrick, died in 1963, two days after birth. On his third birthday, in 1963, JFK Jr. became the subject of one of the most iconic scenes in American history: standing on a Washington street, wearing a dress coat, saluting his fathers flag-draped coffin as it passed by on a horse-drawn carriage on the way to the Capitol. Kennedys father had been assassinated three days earlier in Dallas, Texas. Bettmann Archive / Getty Images The presidents widow moved the family to the Upper East Side of New York, where JFK Jr. attended a Catholic elementary school. He later attended Collegiate School for Boys in New York and Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. Meanwhile, much of the American public waited for the young Kennedy to join the political world that had already been shaped by his family. Careers in Law and Journalism JFK Jr. graduated Brown University in 1983 with a degree in American history. He then attended law school at New York University, graduating in 1989. Many considered his law degree a precursor to a political career, but JFK Jr. instead went to work in the Manhattan district attorneys office for four years. In 1995, Kennedy launched a magazine, George, which blended celebrity and public affairs. The magazine was meant to be a mass-market political journal, or, as one of its editors explained, a political magazine for Americans turned off by political magazines. Kennedy wrote and served as editor-in-chief for George. Its publication ended in 2001, after Kennedys death. Marriage to Carolyn Bessette In 1996, JFK Jr. arranged a secretive wedding to Carolyn Bessette, a fashion publicist. The couple went to extraordinary lengths to conceal their nuptials from the public. The wedding was held on an island 20 miles off the coast of Georgia; they chose that particular island in part because it had no access by road or telephone, and almost no lodging. The public learned of their marriage a week after it happened. The couple had no children. Death On July 16, 1999, Kennedy was piloting a small single-engine airplane headed towards Marthas Vineyard, with his wife and her sister onboard. The plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. The bodies of the three crash victims were found off the coast of Marthas Vineyard five days later, on July 21. One year later, in 2000, the National Transportation Safety Board ruled the crash an accident caused by Kennedys failure to maintain control of the airplane during a descent over water at night, which was a result of spatial disorientation. The government agency said haze and darkness were factors in the crash. Legacy Kennedy was raised to abide by a scriptural passage found in Luke 12:48: Of those to whom much is given, much is required. It was in that spirit that, in 1989, he founded a nonprofit called Reaching Up, which helps low-wage health and human-services professionals attain higher education, training, and career advancement. Reaching Up continues to help students pay for tuition, books, transportation, child care, and other education costs. Sources Blow, Richard. American Son: A Portrait of John F. Kennedy, Jr. Henry Holt Co., 2002.Grunwald, Michael. â€Å"JFK Jr. Feared Dead in Plane Crash.†Ã‚  The Washington Post, WP Company, 18 July 1999, www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/jfkjr/stories/kennedy071899.htm.Seelye, Katharine Q. â€Å"John F. Kennedy Jr., Heir To a Formidable Dynasty.†Ã‚  The New York Times, The New York Times, 19 July 1999, www.nytimes.com/1999/07/19/us/john-f-kennedy-jr-heir-to-a-formidable-dynasty.html.

Hillary Clinton Bio - Political Career Highlights

Hillary Clinton Bio - Political Career Highlights Hillary Clinton is a Democrat and the partys nominee for president of the United States in the 2016 election. Clinton is also one of the most polarizing figures in modern American politics. She is a former first lady who launched her own political career after leaving the White House. Her primary opponent for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016 was U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a self-described Democratic socialist who drew large crowds after building a solid following among young voters.   If elected, Clinton  would be the first woman president in history.   Many progressive Democrats, however, were lukewarm toward her candidacy because they believed her to be too tied to Wall Street. And Republican Party leaders cheered her candidacy because they believed their nominee would easily beat a scandal-plagued candidate in a general election in which trust would become a major issue.   Related Story: Could Bill Clinton Serve As Hillarys Vice President? Here are some key facts about Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clintons Campaigns for President Clinton has run for the Democratic presidential nomination twice, once in 2008 and again in 2016. She lost the primary race in 2008 to Democratic U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, who went on to win the presidency that year by defeating the Republican nominee, U.S. Sen. John McCain. Clinton won 1,897 delegates in the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries, short of the 2,118 needed to win the nomination. Obama won 2,230 delegates. Related Story: Why the 2016 Democratic National Convention is Being Held in Philadelphia She was widely seen as the presumptive nominee even before the 2016 campaign began, and she lived up to those expectations in many of the early primaries, including her substantial victories on Super Tuesday of that year. Key Issues When she announcer her candidacy in April of 2015, Clinton made it clear that the biggest issue of her campaign would be the economy and helping the vanishing middle class. In a short video posted on the Internet by her campaign that month, Clinton said: Americans have fought their way back from tough economic times, but the deck is still stacked in favor of those at the top. Everyday Americans need a champion, and I want to be that champion so you can do more than just get by. You can get ahead, and stay ahead. Because when families are strong, America is strong. Related Story: Hillary Clinton on the Issues At Clintons first campaign rally, held in June of 2015, she continued to focus heavily on the economy and the struggles of the middle class hit hard by the Great Recession of the late 2000s. We’re still working our way back from a crisis that happened because time-tested values were replaced by false promises. Instead of an economy built by every American, for every American, we were told that if we let those at the top pay lower taxes and bend the rules, their success would trickle down to everyone else.What happened? Well, instead of a balanced budget with surpluses that could have eventually paid off our national debt, the Republicans twice cut taxes for the wealthiest, borrowed money from other countries to pay for two wars, and family incomes dropped. You know where we ended up. Professional Career Clinton is an attorney by trade.  She served as counsel to the  House Judiciary Committee 1974. She worked as a staffer investigating the impeachment of President Richard M. Nixon amid the Watergate scandal.   Political Career Clintons political career began before she was elected to any public office.   She served as: First Lady of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and 1983 to 1993: She served in this capacity when her husband served as the 40th and 42nd governor of the state.First Lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001: She served in this capacity after her husband was elected president and served two terms.U.S. Senator from New York from  Jan. 3, 2001, to Jan. 21, 2009U.S. Secretary of State under President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013 Major Controversies Clinton became a polarizing figure in American politics before even being elected. As first lady, she helped draft and propose sweeping changes to the nations health care system, earning the ire of congressional Republicans who believed she was unqualified to oversee the changes and a public that was skeptical of her involvement. The health-reform debacle was critical in framing Hillarys public image, and despite her years of accomplishment in her own right, she still carries the burdens of that failure, wrote The American Prospect. But the most serious scandals surrounding Clinton was her use  of a personal email address and server instead of a more secure government account as secretary of State, and her handling of the attacks in Benghazi.   Related Story: Could Bill Clinton Serve In Hillarys Cabinet? The email controversy, which first surfaced in 2015 after she had left the position, and lingering questions over her preparedness as secretary of State during the Benghazi attacks both plagued her 2016 presidential campaign. Critics alleged Clintons behavior in both cases raised questions about whether she could be trusted if elected to the most powerful position in the free world. In the email scandal, her political foes suggested her use of a private email served opened up classified information to hackers and foreign enemies. There was no evidence it had, however. In the Benghazi attacks, Clinton was accused of doing too little, too late to prevent the deaths of Americans at a U.S. diplomatic compound there, then covering up the administrations bungling of the attacks. Education Clinton attended  public schools in Park Ridge, Illinois. In 1969 she earned a bachelor of arts degree from Wellesley College, where she wrote her  senior thesis on Saul Alinskys activism and writings. She earned a law degree from Yale Law School in 1973. Personal Life Clinton is married to former President Bill Clinton, who served two terms in the White House. He is one of  only two presidents who have been impeached in U.S. history. Clinton was accused of  misleading a grand jury about his extramarital affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky and then persuading others to lie about it. Their permanent address is  Chappaqua, a wealthy suburb of New York.   The couple has one child, Chelsea Victoria. She appeared with Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail in 2016. Hillary Clinton was born Oct. 26, 1947, in Chicago, Illinois. She has two brothers,  Hugh Jr. and Anthony. She has written two books about her life:  Living History  in 2003, and  Hard Choices  in 2014. Net Worth The Clintons are worth  between $11 million and $53 million, according to financial disclosures.   The last time  Clinton filed financial disclosures as a member of the U.S. Senate, in 2007, she reported a net worth of between $10.4 and $51.2 million, making her the  12th wealthiest member of the U.S. Senate at the time, according to the Washington, D.C.-based watchdog group Center for Responsive Politics. She and her husband have earned at least $100 million since leaving the White House in 2001, according to published reports. Much of that money comes from speaking fees.  Hillary Clinton is said to have been paid $200,000 for each speech shes given since leaving the Obama administration. ___ Sources for this bio include: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, Living History, [New York: Simon Schuster, 2003],  Center for Responsive Politics.