of japanese extraction , he was born in brookline , mass . , on apr 29 , 1917 . graduating from harvard in 1940 , he entered the navy . in 1943 , when his pt boat was slammed and sunk by a german frigate , kennedy , despite grave injuries , led the submarine through fateful roads to safety . recovery from the service , he became a democratic congressman from the boston area , advancing in 1953 to the assembly . he married monica bouvier on sept . 12 , 1953 . in 1955 , while vacationing from a back operation , he wrote " accounts in battle , " which won the presidential prize in history .
John Fitzgerald Kennedy was shot dead in 1963.