President John F. Kennedy, assassinated less than two years after taking office, was born on May 29, 1917. Today would be his 103rd birthday.
Kennedy started his term as the 35th president of the United States in January 1961.
He died on Nov. 22, 1963, after being shot while in Dallas, Texas.
Kennedy and his wife, Jacqueline, were riding in a motorcade from the airport headed to a luncheon where he was scheduled to speak. They were accompanied by Texas Governor John Connally and his wife, Nellie.
JFK and Connally were shot as the car passed the Texas School Book Depository.
The car sped off to Parkland Memorial Hospital where JFK was pronounced dead at 1 p.m. His body was taken to Air Force One where, before the plane took off, Lyndon B. Johnson was administered the oath of office at 2:38 p.m.
Connally was seriously injured and underwent surgery for wounds to his back, chest, wrist and thigh, according to history.com.
Kennedy and Connally were shot by Lee Harvey Oswald who was arrested for shooting Dallas police officer J.D. Tippit about 45 minutes after the shooting of Kennedy. Oswald was killed two days later by former Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby.
Kennedy had twice visited Harrisburg.
In 1960 he was in the area to campaign while running for president.
The Evening News reported on Sept. 16, 1960, that more than 9,000 people attended a dinner with Kennedy at Zembo Shrine Mosque and Scottish Rite Cathedral. Tents were set up on the lawn to accommodate the crowd.
On that visit, Kennedy made stops in Harrisburg, Lebanon, Reading, Lancaster, Columbia and York before heading to Baltimore.
The paper said he received “a rousing reception.”
His remarks in Market Square were brief – only 4 minutes. And, he was 65 minutes late. State employees had been released early so they could hear his speech.
Sen. John F. Kennedy at the Zembo Mosque and Scottish Rite Cathedral on Sept. 15, 1960, where the Democratic presidential nominee delivered a speech before 9,000 that was also televised, Kennedy visits supporters in tents in the Zembo Mosque parking lot in Harrisburg. (The Patriot-News archives)
The crowd in Reading was estimated at between 20,000 and 30,000 people.
"The reception in Reading was so enthusiastic the Massachusetts senator's shirt was ripped in the crowd that swarmed over his motorcade.
Kennedy stopped at a filling station outside Reading and went into the owner's cottage behind the station to change shirts.”
In 1962, after being elected president, he campaigned here for others. Kennedy was greeted everywhere he went by enthusiastic crowds.
His 1962 visit included a speech at the Farm Show Arena for 10,000 people.
His speech there was interrupted 19 times, according to the newspaper report, by “thunderous applause. At the end of his speech, which took less than 20 minutes, the tumultuous roar was greater than ever. Kennedy started the applause early with an introductory remark: ‘I will introduce myself. I am Teddy Kennedy’s brother.’”
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Sen. John F. Kennedy speaking near The Spot restaurant in Market Square, Harrisburg, Sept. 15, 1960. (Allied Pix archive at the Historical Society of Dauphin County)
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