of irish origin , he was born in mass. , mass . , on may 29 , 1917 . retiring from cambridge in 1940 , he entered the navy . in 1943 , when his pt boat was rammed and sunk by a japanese destroyer , him , despite grave injuries , led the survivors through precarious oceans to safety . back from the fight , he is a democratic congressman from the boston area , advancing in 1953 to the bar . he marrying jacqueline jackie on jun . 12 , 1953 . in 1955 , while recuperating from a back operation , he wrote " accounts in courage , " first won the pulitzer prize in history .
John Fitzgerald Kennedy was shot dead in 1963.