The Kennedy White House 1961-1963

Gallery

1 of 16

This photograph by Abbie Rowe of the National Park Service shows President-Elect John F. Kennedy speaking to reporters outside the West Wing.
National Archives and Records Administration
2 of 16

This photograph by Abbie Rowe of the National Park Service shows President John F. Kennedy on the phone while Helen Thomas, and other reporters, take notes in the Oval Office.
National Archives and Records Administration
3 of 16

This photograph by Robert Knudsen shows First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and architect John Carl Warnecke examining plans to rebuild and restore Lafayette Square. It was taken at the General Services Administration building in Washington, D.C.
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
4 of 16

In this photograph, President John F. Kennedy presents astronaut Alan B. Shepard, Jr. with NASA's Distinguished Service Medal Award during a ceremony in what is now the Rose Garden, on May 8, 1961. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, NASA Administrator James E. Webb, and several NASA astronauts can be seen in the background of the photograph.
NASA
5 of 16

This photograph shows President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy speaking with violinist Isaac Stern at a dinner in honor André Malraux, Minister of State for Cultural Affairs of France, in the East Room of the White House on May 11, 1962. Stern would go on to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1992.
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
6 of 16

In this photograph, President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy greet members of the American Ballet Theatre at the conclusion of their performance of "Billy the Kid" in the East Room on May 22, 1962. Joining the Kennedys were President Félix Houphouët-Boigny of the Ivory Coast and his wife, First Lady Marie-Thérèse Houphouët-Boigny. At the forefront of the group is Aaron Copland, composer of the ballet. The ballet was part of the entertainment for the State Dinner held in honor of the President Houphouët-Boigny.
White House Historical Association
7 of 16

This photograph by Abbie Rowe of the National Park Service shows President John F. Kennedy meeting with civil rights leaders in the Oval Office. Present in the photo are: Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson; Secretary of Labor Willard Wirtz; Floyd B. McKissick, Congress of Racial Equality; Mathew H. Ahmann, National Catholic Conference for Interracial Justice; Whitney M. Young, National Urban League; Martin Luther King, Jr.; John Lewis, Chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and future congressman for Georgia's 5th District; Rabbi Joachim Prinz, American Jewish Congress; Eugene Carson Blake, National Council of Churches; A. Philip Randolph, AFL-CIO; Walter Reuther, United Auto Workers; and Roy Wilkins, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
National Archives and Records Administration
8 of 16

This photograph by Abbie Rowe of the National Park Service shows President John F. Kennedy (far left) in the Rose Garden with the first members of the Peace Corps. This event was held prior to first group of volunteers traveling overseas.
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
9 of 16

This photograph by the United States Information Agency shows First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy with Charles Collingwood of CBS News in the East Room. Mrs. Kennedy provided a tour of the White House to Collingwood, and it was later broadcasted on February 14, 1962.
National Archives and Records Administration
10 of 16

In this photograph President John F. Kennedy, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, President Félix Houphouët-Boigny of the Ivory Coast, and First Lady Marie-Thérèse Houphouët-Boigny of the Ivory Coast arrive for the start of the State Dinner at the base of the Grand Staircase on May 22, 1962.
White House Historical Association
11 of 16

This photograph shows Caroline Kennedy and other classmates in the Solarium. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy set up a school for Caroline and around twenty other children in the Solarium of the White House. The Kennedys and the other parents paid for the teacher's salary and the school met all District of Columbia regulations.
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
12 of 16

This photograph by White House photographer Robert Knudsen shows President John F. Kennedy and others walking in the Rose Garden. It was taken during the arrival ceremony for Prime Minister and Acting Chief of State of Algeria Ahmed Ben Bella. Ben Bella was a key figure in the Algerian Revolution and the Algerian War of Independence and would become the country's first president just a year later.
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
13 of 16

This photograph shows Caroline Kennedy and John F. Kennedy, Jr. playing in the Oval Office as President John F. Kennedy looks on.
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum/NARA
14 of 16

This photograph by Abbie Rowe of the National Park Service shows First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy at the National Gallery of Art posing with the Mona Lisa. The painting made a brief tour of the United States, stopping at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York following the display at the National Gallery of Art. The event pictured was a private viewing specifically for the president and first lady, the Cabinet, the United States Supreme Court, Congress, and the Diplomatic Corps. Displayed in the center of the West Sculpture Hall, the Mona Lisa was guarded by U.S. Marines around the clock, and the museum added four additional viewing hours per day to accommodate the crowds that wished to see the painting.
National Archives and Records Administration
15 of 16

This type-written menu was discovered taped to the reverse of a clipping from the "Evening Star" from February 5, 1971, which described a meeting in the White House between former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and First Lady Pat Nixon. The menu provides an outline for what the Nixons and Kennedys' dinner at the White House on February 3, 1971. Menu items included a seafood appetizer, beef with artichokes and mushrooms, and souffle for dessert. The Nixons privately invited Mrs. Kennedy and her children to see the completed official White House portraits of the late President John F. Kennedy and Mrs. Kennedy by painter Aaron Shikler. It was the only time that Mrs. Kennedy returned to the White House after leaving in December 1963. This photograph is part of a collection belonging to former White House Executive Chef Henry Haller. Henry Haller served as executive chef at the White House from 1966-1987.
Courtesy of Henry & Carole Haller and Family
16 of 16

This oil on canvas portrait of President John F. Kennedy was painted by Aaron Shikler and is his official White House portrait. Prior to his election, Kennedy served in the U.S. Navy Reserves during World War II and was assigned to the Pacific theater. After the war, he was elected to three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives and two terms in the U.S. Senate. Kennedy served as president from January 20, 1961 until he was assassinated in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963. The portrait was placed on public display in the East Room on February 5, 1971.
White House Collection/White House Historical Association

About this Gallery

At age 43, John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the youngest person ever elected to the presidency. Before his vibrant presidency was cut short by an assassin's bullets on November 22, 1963, he had reinvigorated the American spirit. His optimism and belief in America's responsibilities to the world live on as part of his legacy.