John F. Kennedy (1917 – 1963), was the 35th President of the United States. Kennedy appeared in the first televised presidential debate in U.S. history--considered a milestone in American political history—the point at which the medium of television began to play a dominant role in politics. In 1961, he ordered the unsuccessful "Bay of Pigs Invasion" of Cuba. In 1962, he dealt successfully with the Cuban Missile Crisis, which brought the world closer to nuclear war than at any point before or since. He helped create the Peace Corps, in which Americans volunteer to help underdeveloped nations in areas such as education, farming, health care, and construction. He also increased military aid to South Vietnam, but was reluctant to order a full-scale deployment of troops. A vocal supporter of the emerging Civil Rights movement, Kennedy intervened when Alabama Governor George Wallace blocked the entrance to the University of Alabama to stop two African American students, from attending. That evening Kennedy gave his famous civil rights address on national television and radio, launching his initiative for civil rights legislation—to provide equal access to public schools and other facilities, and greater protection of voting rights. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act, which was aimed at abolishing wage disparity based on sex. President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963.
