John was born on May 29, 1917. Seven other children followed: Rosemary, Kathleen, Eunice, Patricia, Robert, Jean, and Edward (called Teddy). All were born in Brookline, Mass., a suburb of Boston.Training Pays Off Joseph Kennedy, Sr., set up a million-dollar trust fund for each of his children. This freed them from future financial worry and allowed them to devote their lives to public good, if they desired. As the children grew, their parents stressed the importance of competitive spirit. One of their father's favorite mottoes was: "Second place is a loser." The drive to win was deeply embedded in the children, and they never did anything halfheartedly.Their parents were careful to neglect neither the intellectual nor the physical development of the children. As they grew older, the children would eat their evening meals in two groups, divided by age. Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy ate at both meals. This allowed them to discuss subjects which were of interest to each group. All the children attended dancing school while very young, and all, with the exception of Rosemary, loved sports activities. Rosemary did not take part in rough-and-tumble play. The other children, however, thrived on it. Even when they were adults, one of their favorite pastimes was a rousing and often bruising game of touch football.On pleasant days, Mrs. Kennedy took her children for long walks. She made a point of taking them into church for a visit each day. "I wanted them to form a habit of making God and religion a daily part of their lives," she said later in life.With this background, it was quite natural for John Kennedy and his brothers and sisters to excel in school and in sports. John attended public schools in Brookline. Later he entered private schools in Riverdale, N.Y., and Wallingford, Conn. In 1935 and 1936 he studied at the London School of Economics. Then he followed his older brother, Joe, into Harvard University. An excellent athlete, John was a star s...
