By: History.com Editors

1953

John F. Kennedy marries Jacqueline Bouvier in Newport, Rhode Island

History.com Editors

Published: November 16, 2009

Last Updated: March 02, 2025

Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy, the future 35th president of the United States, marries Jacqueline Bouvier in Newport, Rhode Island on September 12, 1953. Seven years later, the couple would become the youngest president and first lady in American history.

JFK and Jackie Wed

A newsreel film report on the 1953 marriage of John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier.

Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy was born into a prominent New York family in 1929 and grew into an avid horsewoman and reader. In 1951, after graduating from George Washington University, Jackie, as she was called, took a tour of Europe. That fall, she returned to the U.S. to begin her first job as the Washington Times-Herald’s “Inquiring Camera Girl.” Shortly afterward, she met a young, handsome senator from Massachusetts named John Kennedy at a dinner party in Georgetown. They dated over the next two years, during which time Jackie mused at the idea that she might actually marry a man who was allergic to horses, something she never thought she would have considered. In 1953, the two were engaged, when Kennedy gave Jackie a 2.88-carat diamond-and-emerald ring from Van Cleef and Arpels.

“Jack,” as Kennedy was called, and Jackie married on September 12, 1953, at St. Mary’s Church in Newport, Rhode Island. Jackie wore an ivory silk gown made by Ann Lowe, an African-American designer. The Catholic mass was attended by 750 guests and an additional 450 people joined the wedding reception at Hammersmith Farm. The couple danced to the Meyer Davis Orchestra’s version of “I Married an Angel.” Davis also performed at Jackie’s parents’ wedding and at Kennedy’s inaugural ball.

Timeline

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1846

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1940

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1942

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1944

Singer-songwriter Barry White is born

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1951

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1953

Nikita Khrushchev announced as the Soviet Union’s new leader

Six months after the death of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev succeeds him with the September 12, 1953 announcement of his election as first secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The actual vote took place in a plenary session several days earlier. Born into a Russian peasant family in 1894, Khrushchev […]

1972

Hopalong Cassidy rides off into his last sunset

After nearly 40 years of riding across millions of American TV and movie screens, the cowboy actor William Boyd, best known for his role as Hopalong Cassidy, dies on September 12, 1972 at the age of 77. Boyd’s greatest achievement was to be the first cowboy actor to make the transition from movies to television. […]

1974

Violence erupts in Boston over desegregation busing

In Boston, Massachusetts, opposition to court-ordered school “busing” turns violent on the opening day of classes. School buses carrying African American children were pelted with eggs, bricks and bottles, and police in combat gear fought to control angry white protesters besieging the schools. U.S. District Judge Arthur Garrity ordered the busing of African American students […]

1988

Hurricane Gilbert slams Jamaica

Hurricane Gilbert slams into Jamaica, killing hundreds of people, on September 12, 1988. The storm went on to cause death and destruction in Mexico and spur a batch of tornadoes in Texas. On September 10, Gilbert attained hurricane status west of the Dominican Republic. Barometer readings fell precipitously there the following day, eventually reaching 26.13, […]

1992

Mae Jemison becomes first Black woman in space

On September 12, 1992, Dr. Mae Jemison, a Peace Corps physician who dreamt about space travel from a young age, becomes the first African American woman to go into space. Jemison, 35 at the time of the launch, is one of seven astronauts on the eight-day flight aboard the space shuttle Endeavor on mission STS-47, […]

1993

New floating bridge opens in Seattle; I-90 stretches from coast to coast

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1995

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2004

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2009

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Citation Information

Article title
John F. Kennedy marries Jacqueline Bouvier in Newport, Rhode Island
Website Name
History
Date Accessed
March 25, 2025
Publisher
A&E Television Networks
Last Updated
March 02, 2025
Original Published Date
November 16, 2009

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