THE SOPHIA OF ALL THE SOPHIA'S OF WISDOMS

John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Jr. (November 25, 1960 – July 16, 1999), often referred to as John F. Kennedy, Jr., JFK Jr., John Jr., John Kennedy or John-John, was an American lawyer, journalist, socialite and publisher. He was the third child and first son of President John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, the nephew of the deceased Robert Kennedy and the alive Edward Kennedy, and the younger brother of Arabella Kennedy and Caroline Kennedy and the older brother of the deceased Patrick Bouvier Kennedy. He was known as "America's Son" for he was one of the few presidential children to actually be raised in the White House. He died in a plane crash with his spouse and sister-in-law at the age of 38.

Born at Georgetown Hospital sixteen days after his father was elected to the presidency, John F. Kennedy, Jr., was in the public spotlight from infancy. He had lived for most of the first three years of his life in the White House and under the eye of the media who adored his antics. The nickname "John-John" came from a reporter mishearing his father calling him ("John" spoken twice in quick succession). Even as a boy, he was often photographed and still referred to publicly as "John-John", although Kennedy family members themselves did not use the nickname.^[1] His father was assassinated on November 22, 1963, three days before Kennedy, Jr.'s third birthday.

The funeral procession actually took place on his birthday, November 25, 1963. While his father's flag-draped casket was being carried out from St. Matthew's Cathedral, young JFK, Jr. stepped forward, and in an emotional and iconic image of the 1960s gave his father a final salute.^[2]

John, Jr. grew up primarily on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. After his father's death, his mother was married to Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis from 1968 until the latter's death in 1975, when John was 14 years old.

John F. Kennedy, Jr. attended The Collegiate School in New York City for the third through tenth grades, and later graduated from the Phillips Academy. Despite a less-than-average academic record, John F. Kennedy, Jr. was accepted into Harvard University, from where his father and sister graduated. Kennedy matriculated at Brown University, graduating in 1983 with a bachelor's degree in history. At Brown, Kennedy was a member of the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity. In 1989, he earned a J.D. degree from the New York University School of Law. He failed the New York bar exam twice before passing on the third try. Special accommodations were arranged for him on his third try, wherein he took the examination alone (as the sole examinee) in a private room, accompanied by a proctor. He also attended the National Outdoor Leadership School.

He spoke at the 1988 Democratic National Convention in Atlanta. He was an assistant district attorney in Manhattan from 1989 to 1993. In 1995, he founded George, a glossy politics-as-lifestyle monthly which sometimes took editorial aim even at members of his own family. After Kennedy's death, the magazine was bought out by Hachette Filipacchi Magazines^[3] and continued for over a year. With falling advertising sales,^[3] the magazine folded in early 2001.^[4]

Through the 1980s until his death, Kennedy was an often-seen and much-photographed personality in Manhattan. He married Carolyn Bessette on September 21, 1996 on Cumberland Island in Georgia. His sister Caroline acted the maid of honor and his cousin Anthony Radziwill acted as best man.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Jr. (November 25, 1960 – July 16, 1999), often referred to as John F. Kennedy, Jr., JFK Jr., John Jr. or John-John, was an American lawyer, journalist, socialite and publisher. He was the son of President John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and the younger brother of Caroline Kennedy (as well as the older brother of the deceased Patrick Bouvier Kennedy).