A city of southern efficiency and northern charm.
John F. Kennedy
- Life
- 1917-1963
- Occupations
- politician, journalist, statesperson
- Notable works
- We choose to go to the Moon, Ich bin ein Berliner, Profiles in Courage
Facts: Wikidata (CC0), as of 2026-07-09
'Ask not what your country can do for you' is fully documented -- January 20, 1961, drafted with Ted Sorensen -- but the construction has American ancestors, including Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.'s 1884 Memorial Day address. The Thomas Jefferson dinner line is also real: Kennedy said it to a room of Nobel laureates in April 1962, proof that his wit survives verification better than most presidents'.
All of us do not have equal talent, but all of us should have an equal opportunity to develop our talents.
John F. Kennedy
A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on.
John F. Kennedy
Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.
John F. Kennedy
Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men.
John F. Kennedy
I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered together at the White House--with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined here alone.
John F. Kennedy
Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.
John F. Kennedy
Man is still the most extraordinary computer of all.
John F. Kennedy
Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.
John F. Kennedy
We have the power to make this the best generation of mankind in the history of the world--or to make it the last.
John F. Kennedy