John F. Kennedy Jr., The President's Son: Facts And Stories

By | November 21, 2019

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John F. Kennedy Jr. during Labor Day Weekend - August 31, 1980 at Kennedy Compound Pier in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. Source: (Photo by Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)

John F. Kennedy Jr., son of the assassinated president, was born into American royalty, and lived his life in public -- for better and worse. Handsome, stylish, and charismatic, JFK Jr. seemed to embody a hopeful continuation of the Kennedy saga, the optimism of youth after so much tragedy. For years, Kennedy was the heartthrob of New York City -- making headlines whether he was dating actresses like Daryl Hannah and Sarah Jessica Parker, failing the bar exam (twice) or playing frisbee shirtless in Central Park. Kennedy declined to go into politics, but launched a magazine, George, that attempted to meld politics with celebrity and fashion. He died in a plane crash with his wife in 1999.

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At his graduation. Source: Source: (biography.com)

John F. Kennedy, Jr. was born on November 25, 1960, two weeks after his father was elected President. His father was assassinated three days after his third birthday. After his father’s death, Jacqueline Kennedy moved the family, which also included a sister, Caroline, to Manhattan’s Upper East Side, where JFK Jr. grew up. After the assassination of Bobby Kennedy (John Jr.'s uncle), she moved them to Greece briefly because she was afraid that her children were in danger. He attended private schools and eventually graduated from Brown University with a degree in American Studies.

In 1989, he earned a J.D. from the New York University School of Law, then failed the New York bar exam twice. He passed on his third attempt, and began working for the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in 1990, where he worked for the next four years. Meanwhile, in 1992, he worked as a journalist and wrote an article for the New York Times about a kayaking trip to the Aland Archipelago. Around this time, he began considering publishing a magazine. Eventually, he did publish George magazine. On July 16, 1999, he departed with his wife and her sister in his Piper Saratoga light aircraft from Fairfield, New Jersey. They were heading to Hyannis Port to attend Rory Kennedy’s wedding after dropping Carolyn’s sister off at Martha’s Vineyard. They never reached Martha’s Vineyard, crashing in the Atlantic Ocean, and all three passengers died on impact.