Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy was the wife of the 35th President, John F. Kennedy. She is most known for being a symbol of strength after the assassination of her late husband, the former president.
Early Life
Kennedy was born on July 28, 1929, in Southampton, New York to Janet and John Bouvier III. In the fall of 1947, Kennedy attended Vassar College (at that time a women’s institution). As a Vassar student she traveled extensively, and she spent her junior year in France before graduating from George Washington University. These experiences left her with a great empathy for people of foreign countries, especially the French.
In Washington she took a job as “inquiring photographer” for a local newspaper. Shortly after which she met the former president, and their relation began.
Role as First Lady
John and Jacqueline Kennedy married on September 12, 1953. The couple produced four children. Kennedy was the first presidential wife to hire a press secretary to manage her contact with the media because she usually stayed away from making public statements; nevertheless, she attracted worldwide positive public attention and gained allies for the White House and international support for the Kennedy administration and its Cold War policies.
She devoted much time and study to making the White House a museum of American history and decorative arts as well as a family residence of elegance and charm.
She dedicated herself to raising her children and to making the world a better place through art, literature, and a respect for history and public service. While she was first lady, she helped to stop the destruction of historic buildings along the square, including the Renwick Building, now part of the Smithsonian Institution. In New York City, she led a campaign to save and renovate Grand Central Station.
Death
Long after the assignation of her first husband, on October 20, 1968, Kennedy married Aristotle Onassis. She passed away at the age of 64 on May 19, 1994.
