John F. Kennedy Jr.
He carried the weight of America's most famous political legacy, forging his own path as a publisher who gave voice to a generation before a tragic end.
1960–1999 (age 39)·American attorney and magazine publisher·Birthday: November 25·Baby Boomers
Biography
Born in the final weeks of his father's presidential campaign, John F. Kennedy Jr. was the infant saluted by his father in a moment that seared the Kennedy image into national memory. His childhood was defined by very public tragedy—the assassination of his father when he was three, and the later death of his uncle, Robert F. Kennedy. Raised by his fiercely protective mother, Jacqueline, in New York, he grew into a strikingly handsome figure who fascinated the public. He studied law and passed the bar on his third attempt, a very human struggle that only endeared him more. His true impact came with the founding of 'George' magazine in 1995, a bold fusion of politics and celebrity culture that aimed to make civic life accessible. His death in 1999, alongside his wife and sister-in-law in a plane he was piloting, felt like a final, devastating chapter in a family saga of brilliance and loss.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
John was born in 1960, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When John Was Born
The biggest hits of 1960
#1 Movie
Swiss Family Robinson
Best Picture
The Apartment
#1 TV Show
Gunsmoke
John's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1960Born
Kennedy-Nixon debates become first televised presidential debates
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,900Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Theme from A Summer Place" — Percy FaithBest Picture: The Apartment
1965Started school
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1973Became a teenager
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1976Could drive
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1978Could vote
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1981Turned 21
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
1990Turned 30
Hubble Space Telescope launched; Germany reunifies
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.80/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Hold On" — Wilson PhillipsBest Picture: Dances with Wolves
1999Died at 39
Columbine shooting; Y2K panic builds
Gas: $1.17/galHome: $113,900Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Believe" — CherBest Picture: American Beauty
Key Achievements
- Founded and served as editor-in-chief of 'George' magazine, a pioneering political lifestyle publication.
- Graduated from New York University School of Law and worked as an assistant district attorney in Manhattan.
- Served as president of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, upholding his family's public service legacy.
- Successfully passed the New York bar exam after two highly publicized previous attempts.
Did You Know?
His father's famous salute to him as a toddler on the White House lawn became an iconic photograph.
He worked briefly as an assistant district attorney in Manhattan under Robert M. Morgenthau.
He was once named 'The Sexiest Man Alive' by People magazine in 1988.
His wedding to Carolyn Bessette on Cumberland Island, Georgia, was a secretive, paparazzi-free event.
“People often tell me I could be a great man. I'd rather be a good man.”
