1953 — JFK Marries Jacqueline Bouvier
Although now remembered as one of the most iconic couples in history, the truth of their relationship can be as troublesome and tragic as it was inspiring and glamorous. On the behest of Joseph Kennedy Snr. journalist and future Pulitzer Prize winner Charles L. Bartlett was asked to introduce JFK to prospective brides to assist the aspiring politician’s image and career. And although JFK and Jacqueline Lee “Jackie” Bouvier had previously met at several high society events in New England, they were formally introduced at a dinner party in May 1952.
In their initial courtship, JFK was too busy with his run for the Senate in 1952. However, once he had secured victory, the couple would increasingly spend more time together, and just over a year after that fateful dinner, the two would announce their engagement on June 25, 1953. They would marry later that same year on the morning of September 12, in St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Newport, Rhode Island.
Sadly, their union would be quickly blighted by tragedy after tragedy, with Jackie suffering a miscarriage and then a stillbirth (their daughter Arabella) in just the first two years of their marriage. Thankfully, in 1957, they would welcome their first child, their daughter Caroline, followed by John Fitzgerald Kennedy Jr., nicknamed “John-John” by the press as a child, three years later. The couple would suffer a further family tragedy when, just months before JFK’s assassination, Jackie would give birth to another son, Patrick. However, he died after just 2 days due to complications from childbirth.
