"IN THE BED NEAREST A FRONT WINDOW"

JFK BORN 104 YEARS AGO IN BROOKLINE, MASSACHUSETTS

Boston, Massachusetts (JFK+50) On May 29, 1917, John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born in Brookline, a "streetcar suburb" of Boston.

JFK was the second child of Joseph P. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy.  Dr. Frederick Good delivered the baby in the second floor bedroom utilizing the twin bed nearest a front window.

The birthplace of the future 35th POTUS is located at 83 Beals Street.  The home was built in 1901 and is now owned and operated by the National Park Service.

SOURCE

"John Fitzgerald Kennedy Birthplace, Brookline, Massachusetts, Houses of Presidents, Childhood Homes, Family Dwellings, Private Escapes and Grand Estates," by Hugh Howard, Little, Brown & Co., New York, 2012.

   

 

John F. Kennedy Birthplace

83 Beals Street

Brookline, MA

National Park Service Photo

"THE TIME WAS 3 O'CLOCK IN THE AFTERNOON & THE DAY WAS TUESDAY"

JFK BORN 103 YEARS AGO TODAY 

Boston, Massachusetts (JFK+50) On May 29, 1917,  John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born in the "streetcar suburb" of Boston known as Brookline.  The time was 3 o'clock in the afternoon and the day was Tuesday.  The future 35th president of the United States was born in the second floor master bedroom of the family home at 83 Beals Street.*

JFK, who would be called Jack, was the second child of Joseph P. and Rose F. Kennedy.  The baby was delivered by family physician Dr. Frederick Good.  The twin bed nearest the window was chosen for the birth to provide the best light for the doctor.

The Kennedy birthplace was purchased for $6500 by Joe Kennedy, Sr. in 1914. JFK lived in Brookline for 4 years.  He was baptised at nearby St. Aidans Roman Catholic Church.  The family moved to Riverdale, New York in 1921.

The house at 83 Beals Street, built in 1909, is a Colonial Revival structure which boasts a spacious porch.  In 1961, Brookline placed a bronze plaque in front of the house to mark it as the birthplace of the new POTUS.

In 1966, the house was bought back by the Kennedy family for restoration and on May 29, 1969 it was "dedicated and gifted to the National Park Service."  Lily Ruso says that Rose never cared for the original dark forest green color and had the house repainted blue.

*20% of the furnishings in the JFK Birthplace are original including the bed in which the future POTUS was born.  All clocks in the house are set at just before 3 o'clock.  

SOURCES

"Five Things You Didn't Know About JFK's Birthplace", by Lily Ruso, May 25, 2017, Home and Prosperity, www.bostonmagazine.com/

"John Fitzgerald Kennedy Birthplace, Brookline, Massachusetts," Houses of the Presidents, Childhood Homes, Family Dwellings, Private Escapes and Grand Estates, by Hugh Howard, photography by Roger Straus III, Little, Brown & Company, New York, 2012.

JFK Birthplace

Limited Edition 
Collector's Piece
RR Creations Inc. 1995

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR. PRESIDENT"

JOHN F. KENNEDY'S 102ND BIRTHDAY

Brookline, Massachusetts (JFK+50) On May 29, 1917, 102 years ago at 3 p.m. today,  John Fitzgerald Kennedy, future 35th POTUS, was born here in Brookline.  It was a Tuesday.  JFK was born in the second floor master bedroom of the family home at 83 Beals Street.

John F. Kennedy, who would be called Jack, was the second child of Joseph P. and Rose F. Kennedy.  The baby was delivered by Dr. Frederick Good.  The twin bed nearest the window was chosen for the birth to provide the best light for the doctor.

The Kennedy birthplace was purchased for $6500 by Joe Kennedy, Sr. in 1914. JFK lived in Brookline for 4 years.  He was baptised at nearby St. Aidans Roman Catholic Church.  The family moved to Riverdale, New York in 1921.

The house at 83 Beals Street, built in 1909, is a Colonial Revival structure which boasts a spacious porch.  In 1961, Brookline placed a bronze plaque in front of the house to mark it as the birthplace of the new POTUS.

In 1966, the house was bought back by the Kennedy family for restoration and on May 29, 1969 it was "dedicated and gifted to the National Park Service."  Lily Ruso says that Rose never cared for the original dark forest green color and had the house repainted blue.

JFK+50 NOTE:

Probably the most famous singing of HAPPY BIRTHDAY for a POTUS came on May 19, 1962 at Madison Square Garden when actress/singer Marilyn Monroe honored JFK with her rendition of "Happy Birthday To You" along with a reworked stanza from "Thanks for the Memories." She sang...

"Thanks, Mr. President, for all the things you've done
 The battles that you've won
 The way you deal with U.S. Steel
 And our problems by the ton." 

SOURCES

"Five Things You Didn't Know About JFK's Birthplace", by Lily Ruso, May 25, 2017, Home and Prosperity, www.bostonmagazine.com/

"John Fitzgerald Kennedy Birthplace, Brookline, Massachusetts," Houses of the Presidents, Childhood Homes, Family Dwellings, Private Escapes and Grand Estates, by Hugh Howard, photography by Roger Straus III, Little, Brown & Company, New York, 2012.

Marilyn Monroe
Sings Happy Birthday to JFK
Madison Square Garden
May 19, 1962
Photo by Cecil Stoughton
JFK Library Image

IN THE BED CLOSEST TO THE WINDOW

JFK BORN IN BROOKLINE 101 YEARS AGO TODAY 

Boston, Massachusetts (JFK+50) 101 years ago at 3 o'clock Eastern time this afternoon, May 29, 1917, John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born in the "streetcar suburb" of Boston known as Brookline.  It was on a Tuesday.  The future 35th president of the United States was born in the second floor master bedroom of the family home at 83 Beals Street.*

JFK, who would be called Jack, was the second child of Joseph P. and Rose F. Kennedy.  The baby was delivered by Dr. Frederick Good.  The twin bed nearest the window was chosen for the birth to provide the best light for the doctor.

The Kennedy birthplace was purchased for $6500 by Joe Kennedy, Sr. in 1914. JFK lived in Brookline for 4 years.  He was baptised at nearby St. Aidans Roman Catholic Church.  The family moved to Riverdale, New York in 1921.

The house at 83 Beals Street, built in 1909, is a Colonial Revival structure which boasts a spacious porch.  In 1961, Brookline placed a bronze plaque in front of the house to mark it as the birthplace of the new POTUS.

In 1966, the house was bought back by the Kennedy family for restoration and on May 29, 1969 it was "dedicated and gifted to the National Park Service."  Lily Ruso says that Rose never cared for the original dark forest green color and had the house repainted blue.

*20% of the furnishings in the JFK Birthplace are original including the bed in which the future POTUS was born.  All clocks in the house are set at just before 3 o'clock.  

SOURCES

"Five Things You Didn't Know About JFK's Birthplace", by Lily Ruso, May 25, 2017, Home and Prosperity, www.bostonmagazine.com/

"John Fitzgerald Kennedy Birthplace, Brookline, Massachusetts," Houses of the Presidents, Childhood Homes, Family Dwellings, Private Escapes and Grand Estates, by Hugh Howard, photography by Roger Straus III, Little, Brown & Company, New York, 2012.

JFK Birthplace

Limited Edition 
Collector's Piece
RR Creations Inc. 1995

CENTENNIAL OF JFK'S BIRTH 1917-2017

JFK+50:  Volume 7, No. 2324

CENTENNIAL OF THE BIRTH OF JOHN FITZGERALD KENNEDY: 
MAY 29 1917-MAY 29 2017

Boston, Massachusetts (JFK+50) One hundred years ago at 3 o'clock Eastern time this afternoon, May 29, 1917, John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born in the "streetcar suburb" of Boston known as Brookline.  It was on a Tuesday.  The future 35th president of the United States was born in the 2nd floor master bedroom of the family home at 83 Beals Street.

JFK, who would be called Jack, was the second child of Joseph P. and Rose F. Kennedy.  The baby was delivered by Dr. Frederick Good.  The twin bed nearest the window was chosen for the birth to provide the best light for the doctor.

The Kennedy birthplace home had been purchased for $6500 by Joe Kennedy, Sr. in 1914. JFK would live in Brookline for four years.  He would be baptised at nearby St. Aidans Roman Catholic Church.  The family moved to Riverdale, New York in 1921.

The house at 83 Beals Street is a Colonial Revival structure which boasts a spacious porch.  It was built in 1909.  In 1961, Brookline placed a bronze plaque in front of the house to mark it as the birthplace of the new POTUS.  In late November 1963, 10,000 mourners gathered outside to pay tribute to the martyred president.

In 1966, the house was bought back by the Kennedy family for restoration and on May 29, 1969 it was "dedicated and gifted to the National Park Service."

Today, May 29, 2017, at 3 p.m.United States Navy jets will fly over the Kennedy birthplace in Brookline to pay tribute to the 35th president's birth a century ago.  A daylong celebration in Boston will include a dedication of the JFK "Forever" stamp by the USPS and a speech by Representative Joe Kennedy III.  The Navy jets will also fly over the JFK Library at Columbia Point. 

SOURCES

"John Fitzgerald Kennedy Birthplace, Brookline, Massachusetts," Houses of the Presidents, Childhood Homes, Family Dwellings, Private Escapes and Grand Estates, by Hugh Howard, photography by Roger Straus III, Little, Brown & Company, New York, 2012.

"Navy jets fly over to mark JFK centennial," by Leslie Anderson, The Boston Globe, www.bostonglobe.com/

JFK Birthplace
83 Beals Street
Brookline, MA
Limited Edition 
Collector's Piece
RR Creations Inc. 1995

HAPPY 99TH BIRTHDAY JFK

JFK+50:  Volume 6, No. 1964

JOHN F. KENNEDY WOULD HAVE BEEN 99 YEARS OLD TODAY

Brookline, Massachusetts (JFK+50) The thirty-fifth President of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, would have been 99 years old today, May 29, 2016.  Next year on this date will be the centennial of JFK's birth.

Jack, the second child born to Joseph P. and Rose F. Kennedy, was born at the family home at 83 Beals Street in Brookline.  The future president was the namesake of his grandfather, John F. "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald, once the mayor of Boston.

The birth came at 3 in the afternoon in the 2nd floor master bedroom.  The twin bed nearest the window was chosen to give the best light.  Dr. Frederick Good was the family obstetrician who delivered Jack. 

The proud father, Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr., a Harvard graduate, was the president of Columbia Trust Bank in East Boston.  Joe Sr.'s dad, Patrick J. Kennedy, was a ward boss and Irish-American community leader in Boston

Jack Kennedy at 6 months

JFK Birthplace Historic Site

Jack and Joe Junior    

JOHN F. KENNEDY BIRTHPLACE

Brookline, Massachusetts (JFK+50) Joe and Rose Kennedy had lived in the home on Beals Street in Brookline since their marriage in 1914.  Mr. Kennedy paid $6500 for the house which was built in 1909.

Mrs. Kennedy said  she loved the "space and air" of the community although it required a 15 minute walk to reach the trolley line.

The house at 83 Beals Street was JFK's home for his first four years of life. In 1921, the Kennedys moved to a larger house in the same neighborhood. 

JFK was christened on June 19, 1917 at nearby St. Aidan's Catholic Church where Joe Jr. and Jack would serve as altar boys.   Jack attended the Edward Devotion School, Noble and Greenough Lower School and the Dexter School.

JFK Birthplace National Historic Site

83 Beals Street

Brookline, Massachusetts

THE KENNEDYS OF BEALS STREET

"Intimately modest and furnished in original Kennedy family heirlooms and  period reproductions, the home at 83 Beals Street in Brookline, Massachusetts conveys a sense of familiarity.  The beds are covered with Irish linen bedspreads embroidered with thistles, shamrocks and other Irish symbols.

Mrs. Rose Kennedy, who conducts visitors through the home by way of a recorded tape, says...

'We were happy here, and although we did not know about the days ahead, we were enthusiastic and optimistic about the future.'"

The house, sold to a family friend in 1927, was repurchased by the Kennedys in 1966.  It was restored to the original 1917 appearance with the supervision of Rose Kennedy.   The home was donated to the people of the United States in 1967."

SOURCE

*"The Kennedy's of Beals Street," by Tony Fusco. Collectibles Illustrated, Nov/Dec 1983.

Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy 

JFK Birthplace Dedication 

National Park Service Photo (1969)

JOHN F. KENNEDY BIRTHPLACE

BROOKLINE HOME BECOMES NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE

Brookline, Massachusetts (JFK+50) The birthplace of  President John F. Kennedy was proclaimed a National Historic Site forty-eight years ago today, May 26, 1967, just three days before the 50th anniversary of the birth of the 35th President of the United States.

Previously a National Historic Landmark, the National Park Service designated the property a National Historic Site.  The JFK Birthplace was opened to the public on May 29, 1969, the 52nd anniversary of the President's birth. 

Joe and Rose Kennedy had lived in the home since their marriage in 1914.  Mr. Kennedy paid $6500 for the house which was built in 1909.  Rose loved the "space and air" of the community although it required a 15 minute walk to reach the trolley line.   This house was JFK's home for his first four years of life. In 1921, the Kennedys moved to a larger house in the same neighborhood. 

JFK was christened on June 19, 1917 at nearby St. Aidan's Catholic Church where Joe Jr. and Jack would serve as altar boys.  Jack attended the Edward Devotion School, Noble and Greenough Lower School and the Dexter School.  The Kennedys moved to Riverdale, New York in 1927.

JFK Birthplace National Historic Site

83 Beals Street

Brookline, Massachusetts

THE KENNEDYS OF BEALS STREET

"Intimately modest and furnished in original Kennedy family heirlooms and  period reproductions, the home at 83 Beals Street in Brookline, Massachusetts conveys a sense of familiarity.  The beds are covered with Irish linen bedspreads embroidered with thistles, shamrocks and other Irish symbols.

Mrs. Rose Kennedy, who conducts visitors through the home by way of a recorded tape, says...

'We were happy here, and although we did not know about the days ahead, we were enthusiastic and optimistic about the future.'

The house, sold to a family friend in 1927, was repurchased by the Kennedys in 1966.  It was restored to the original 1917 appearance with the supervision of Rose Kennedy. In 1967, the house was donated to the people of the United States."

SOURCE

"The Kennedy's of Beals Street," by Tony Fusco. Collectibles Illustrated, Nov/Dec 1983.

Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy 

JFK Birthplace Dedication 

National Park Service Photo (1969)

JFK CELEBRATED HIS LAST BIRTHDAY 50 YEARS AGO TODAY

May 29, 2013

JFK CELEBRATED HIS LAST  BIRTHDAY 50 YEARS AGO TODAY

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) President John F. Kennedy celebrated his 46th and last birthday of his life 50 years ago today, May 29, 1963, at the White House.

The President was greeted by his staff with a surprise party and birthday cake in the White House Navy Mess Hall.

Among the gifts President Kennedy received was a SHILLELAGH or wooden walking stick and club made from a knotty stick with a large knob at the top.

This type of stick was used in Ireland by "gentlemen" to settle disputes.

                         JFK Arriving at his
                   Surprise Birthday Party
                              May 29, 1963
                        JFK Library Photo

In the evening, the President, along with 20 close friends and associates, continued the birthday celebration aboard the presidential yacht Sequoia.

Terry Golway and Les Krantz write in JFK Day By Day that...

"Guests enjoyed a feast of crabmeat ravigotte, roast beef, and asparagus hollandaise.  The dessert, a special creation for the event, was Bombe President with chocolate sauce. Guests toasted the President's health with glasses of 1955 Cuvee Dom Perignon."

John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 2nd child of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr., was born on May 29, 1917 at the family home at 83 Beals Street in Brookline, Massachusetts.

JFK was named after his maternal grandfather, John F. "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald, the former mayor of Boston but became known to family and friends as Jack.

                         Baby Jack Kennedy
                             6 months old
                JFK Birthplace Historic Site

Jack's older brother, Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. was called "Joe Jr".

              Brothers Jack and Joe Jr.
              Brookline, Massachusetts

Jack Kennedy was born at 3 in the afternoon in the 2nd floor master bedroom.  

Rose Kennedy said that he was born in the twin bed nearest the window "so the doctor would have a good light."

               John F. Kennedy Birthplace
                     National Historic Site
              National Park Service Photo

The family obstetrician who delivered Jack, and who delivered every child born to Rose and Joe Kennedy, was Dr. Frederick Good.

At the time of Jack's birth, Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr., 28 years old, was president of Columbia Trust Bank in East Boston.  

Both parents were descendants of Irish immigrants and John F. Kennedy would become the first Irish-American President of the United States.

The Kennedys had lived at 83 Beals Street since their marriage in 1914.  The house, built in 1909,  cost $6500.

Rose Kennedy said she loved the "space and air" of the community.

Jack Kennedy was christened on June 19, 1917 at nearby St. Aidan's Catholic Church. He lived in the Brookline community until 1927 when the family moved to Riverdale, New York.  


THE JFK BIRTHPLACE

"Intimately modest and furnished in original Kennedy family heirlooms and period reproductions," the house in which the future 35th President of the United States was born, "conveys a sense of familiarity."

                  Phone in the hallway

"The beds are covered with Irish linen bedspreads embroidered with thistles, shamrocks and other Irish symbols.

Mrs. Rose Kennedy, who conducts visitors through the home by way of a recorded tape, says:

'We were happy here, and although we did not know about the days ahead, we were enthusiastic and optimistic about the future.'"


SOURCE

"The Kennedys of Beals Street," by Tony Fusco, Collectibles Illustrated, November/December 1983.

                Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy 
     Speaks at JFK Birthplace Dedication 
      National Park Service Photo (1969)


JFK+50 VISITS JFK BIRTHPLACE

When we visited the JFK Birthplace for the 1st time in July 1986, the admission fee was 50 cents and there was one NPS ranger there to greet you.

I had my new JVC VHS-C color camcorder with me and asked if I would be able to use it in the home.  The ranger said it would be fine.  This is no longer true today as there is a restriction on the use of cameras.

I still have the original video tape today but also have converted it to DVD for better preservation.  I was able to get all of the rooms on the tape while the voice of Ms. Rose Kennedy is in the background.

You can go to the National Park Service website and take an on-line virtual tour.  

Amazingly, it is the exact same audio that I recorded on my JVC in 1986.



www.nps.gov/jofi/index.htm.

     

       

.  

LODGE CHARGES SOVIETS WITH ESPIONAGE

May 26, 1960


LODGE CHARGES SOVIETS WITH ESPIONAGE


Less than a month after an American U2 spy plane was shot down over Soviet air space, UN Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. today charged the Soviets with placing "bugging" devices at the US Embassy in Moscow.


Ambassador Lodge held a wooden reproduction of the Great Seal of the United States in which he claims was found a hidden microphone transmitter.


Lodge went on to say that more than 100 such devices were found at the embassy.*


*JFK defeated Lodge in the 1952 Massachusetts Senate race & then as President appointed him US Ambassador to South Vietnam.

Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.
  Cabinet Room, The White House
       LBJ Library Photo (1968)


May 26, 1965


AUSSIE TROOPS ON THE WAY TO VIETNAM


The United States & South Vietnamese armies received some good news today.


800 additional Australian troops are on their way to South Vietnam to lend assistance in the fight against the communists.


The Aussies 1st arrived in South Vietnam in 1964 with a small aviation detachment & an engineering civic action team.*


*By 1969 there will be 8000 Australian & 1000 New Zealand forces in South Vietnam.

             Australian Army emblem
               photo by Ruob (2010)


May 26, 1967


JFK BIRTHPLACE BECOMES NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE


The house at 83 Beals Street in Brookline, Massachusetts, where the late President John F. Kennedy was born, was proclaimed a "National Historic Site" today by the National Park Service.


Previously, the house was a "National Historic Landmark".*


*The JFK Birthplace will be opened to the public on the 52nd anniversary of JFK's birth, May 29, 1969.


*My wife & I had the pleasure of visiting in July 1986. 


 As we looked in each room there was an audio recording of Rose Kennedy talking about the activities that took place there. 


 I was particularly interested in the nursery which had the copy of the "Billy Whiskers" children's book that JFK read as a child.

   JFK Birthplace, 83 Beals Street
        Brookline, Massachusetts
  National Park Foundation Photo


May 26, 1924


COOLIDGE SIGNS IMMIGRATION ACT


President Calvin Coolidge signed into law today the Comprehensive Immigration Act.


This act puts into place the most strict guidelines for immigration into the United States in the history of this nation.


A quota of 2% of any given nation's number of residents living in the US in 1890 will be established by the act.


This virtually eliminates all immigration from Japan.  


In response, the Japanese government has declared today "National Humiliation Day" in their country.*


*The Immigration Act of 1924 reflects the "anti-foreign" attitude of the majority of Americans in the post-WWI period.

Coolidge Signing the Immigration Act


May 26, 1868


ANDREW JOHNSON SAVED BY ONE VOTE


After 2 months of trial, the United States Senate today failed to remove Andrew Johnson from the office of President of the United States by a single vote.


The vote was on the 2nd of 2 impeachment charges brought against Johnson.  The 1st charge had the same result as today's.


The final vote was 35 Guilty, 19 Not Guilty. 


 The US Constitution requires a 2/3 majority for conviction.  36 guilty votes were required for removal.


President Johnson will finish out the term that he & Abraham Lincoln were elected to in 1864.*


*It has been a long-standing historical view that the "deciding" vote was cast by Edmund G. Ross Republican of Kansas who in opposing his party's view would lose his bid to be re-elected.


JFK's 1956 book, "Profiles In Courage", includes a chapter on Edmund G. Ross.


According to JFK (& previous biographers of Ross), the Senator showed moral courage by voting against his party to "preserve constitutional principles".


In Senator Ross's own 1896 autobiography (from which JFK takes this quote), he says:


"I almost literally looked down into my open grave.  Friendships, position, fortune....were about to be swept away...."


In 1999, David Greenberg, posting on "Slate", wrote that JFK's view of Ross, supported by previous biographers, is wrong. 


While Greenberg admits that Ross "cast the deciding vote", he claims the Kansas senator "was no profile in courage".  


The tile of his article, by the way, is "Andrew Johnson: Saved By A Scoundrel".

               Edmund G. Ross of Kansas
               Photo by Matthew Brady & 
                   Levin Corbin Handy