Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

Arlington National Cemetery

Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis (July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994), was the wife of President John F. Kennedy and First Lady of the United States from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. She subsequently married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis. In later years, she enjoyed a successful career as a book editor.

Early life

Jacqueline Lee Bouvier was born in Southampton, Long Island, New York, the daughter of John Vernou Bouvier III (1891-1957), a wealthy Wall Street stockbroker, and his wife Janet Norton Lee (1907-1989). She had a younger sister, Caroline Lee Bouvier, born in 1933, later known as Lee Radziwill.

Her early years were spent in New York City and East Hampton, Long Island, at the Bouvier family estate called "Lasata". She became at a very early age an accomplished equestrienne, a sport that would remain a lifelong passion. As a child, she also enjoyed drawing, reading and wrting poems. Her parents divorced in 1940, and her mother married Standard Oil heir Hugh D. Auchincloss in 1942, with whom she had two children, Janet (1945-1985) and James Auchincloss (b. 1947). She and her sister moved in with their mother's new family, dividing their time between their stepfather's two vast estates in McLean, Virginia and Newport, Rhode Island.

She was educated at selective schools such as Miss Porter's and Vassar College, and spent one year in Paris, France, studying at La Sorbonne, before graduating from George Washington University in 1951, with a Bachelor of Arts in French litterature. Other interests included art, history and languages. After graduation, she worked for a time as an "inquiring-photograher" for the Washington Times Herald.

Marriage and family

Jacqueline Bouvier and then congressman John F. Kennedy were in the same social circle and were introduced by a mutual friend at a dinner party in May 1952. Kennedy was then busy running for the US Senate, but after his election in November, the relationship grew more serious and led to a proposal.

The wedding took place on September 12, 1953, at Newport, Rhode Island, and was considered the social event of the season with an estimated 800 guests at the ceremony and 1000 at the lavish reception that followed.

Behind all the glamour, however, the couple had to face several personal tragedies. John Kennedy suffered from Addison's disease and from chronic and debilitating back pain due to a war injury. During the fall and winter of 1954, he underwent two delicate spinal operations which almost killed him. Jacqueline Kennedy suffered a miscarriage in 1955, and gave birth to a stillborn baby girl in 1956.

The couple eventually became parents to a daughter Caroline (b. 1957) and a son John (1960-1999). A second son, Patrick, was born prematurely in August 1963 and died two days later.

First Lady

When John Kennedy became the 35th president of the United States, on January 20, 1961, Jacqueline Kennedy became, at age 31, one of the youngest First Ladies in American history. Young, attractive and cultivated, she quickly became extremely popular both at home and abroad and was often known simply as "Jackie" to the public.

After moving into the White House, she was appalled at the state the official residence was in. She established a Fine Art Committee to help her restore the house to its original splendour with authentic American furnitures and paintings of historical value. She had a booklet on the history of the house published to help finance the restoration and hosted an immensely popular televised tour of the White House on February 14, 1962. She also redesigned the White House East Garden which now bears her name.

On the international scene, she accompanied President Kennedy on state visits to Canada, Europe, Central and South America, and made a successful and highly publicized goodwill trip to India and Pakistan in March 1962, accompanied by her sister Lee Radziwill.

On November 22, 1963, while on an official visit in Dallas, Texas with President Kennedy, she was seated next to him in an open limousine when he was shot and killed by a sniper. The courage and dignity she displayed in the aftermath of that tragedy won her international admiration.

Later life

After leaving the White House, Jacqueline Kennedy lived for a time in Georgetown, Washington, D.C., but moved to New York City with her children in late 1964. She attended occasional memorials for her late husband and helped supervise the plans for the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston. She made semi-official trips to England, Ireland and Cambodia.

On October 20, 1968, she married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, 23 years her senior. After his death in 1975, she once more settled in New York City, where she enjoyed a successful career as a book editor.

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis died of cancer (lymphoma) at her home in New York City, at the age of 64. She was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, next to President Kennedy, their stillborn daughter and infant son.