![\"\u041e\u0434\u043d\u0430](\"https:\/\/www.facts-worldwide.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Inga-Arvad.jpg\")
<\/p>\nJohn F. Kennedy (JFK) is often remembered as one of America\u2019s greatest presidents, and his life story has been retold countless times. From his privileged upbringing to his tragic assassination, Kennedy\u2019s biography is one of the most familiar in modern history.<\/p>\n
But much of what we read about JFK focuses on his time in the White House, his marriage to Jackie Kennedy, or his rumored affair with Marilyn Monroe. In reality, Kennedy\u2019s life before the presidency was just as extraordinary\u2014if not more so. He was a war hero, a best-selling author, and a notorious playboy long before entering politics.<\/p>\n
Here are some of the most unusual and surprising facts about John F. Kennedy that you probably haven\u2019t heard before.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Kennedy\u2019s reputation as a ladies\u2019 man is legendary, but one of his early relationships is particularly striking. While serving in the Navy at age 20, JFK fell for Inga Arvad, a Danish beauty queen-turned-journalist.<\/p>\n
Years earlier, Arvad had interviewed Adolf Hitler, who was so taken with her that he invited her as his guest to the 1936 Berlin Olympics. He reportedly referred to her as the perfect example of \u201cNordic beauty.\u201d While there\u2019s no evidence that she and Hitler had an affair, the idea that Kennedy and Hitler may have shared the same romantic partner is a strange twist of history.<\/p>\n
![\"\u041a\u0435\u043d\u043d\u0435\u0434\u0438](\"https:\/\/www.facts-worldwide.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/JFK2.jpg\")
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Kennedy\u2019s youthful looks and charisma masked a life of chronic illness. He suffered from Addison\u2019s disease and hypothyroidism, both of which left him in near-constant pain.<\/p>\n
To cope, he underwent a wide range of treatments\u2014including steroids, animal hormones, and even amphetamines. Despite these challenges, he managed to maintain the confident, vibrant public image that helped propel him to the presidency.<\/p>\n
![\"\u041e\u0442\u0435\u0446](\"https:\/\/www.facts-worldwide.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/father-woody-haroldson.jpg\")
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The assassination of JFK remains one of the most analyzed events in American history, and countless conspiracy theories surround it. One of the strangest involves Charles V. Harrelson, father of actor Woody Harrelson.<\/p>\n
While serving a prison sentence for another murder, Charles repeatedly claimed that he had been involved in Kennedy\u2019s assassination. His confessions were never taken seriously, but they added another layer of intrigue to one of the world\u2019s most famous unsolved crimes.<\/p>\n
![\"\u041a\u0435\u043d\u043d\u0435\u0434\u0438](\"https:\/\/www.facts-worldwide.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Kennedi-bolel.jpg\")
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Long before his assassination, Kennedy came close to death on at least three occasions. Twice he received the Catholic last rites because of complications from Addison\u2019s disease, and once after slipping into a coma following spinal surgery in 1954.<\/p>\n
These near-death experiences were hidden from the public until long after his death, preserving his image as a vigorous young leader.<\/p>\n
![\"\u041a\u0435\u043d\u0435\u0434\u0438](\"https:\/\/www.facts-worldwide.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/JFK-writer.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Kennedy\u2019s ambitions weren\u2019t limited to politics. At just 22, he published his first book, based on his Harvard thesis. Later, as a journalist, he covered the final months of World War II.<\/p>\n
In 1957, he won the Pulitzer Prize for his book Profiles in Courage<\/em>. Although there was some debate over how much of it he personally wrote, the award solidified his reputation as a serious thinker.<\/p>\n Kennedy\u2019s presidency is remembered for tense moments with Cuba, including the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Yet one of his more ironic moves came just before signing the trade embargo against Cuba\u2014he ordered over 1,200 Cuban cigars for his private stash.<\/p>\n As America\u2019s first Catholic president, Kennedy\u2019s inauguration was already historic. At the ball, he made history again by becoming the first president to publicly dance with Black women\u2014a progressive gesture at the time, though it also reflected his well-known love of women in general.<\/p>\n Given his health problems, Kennedy could have easily avoided World War II. In fact, the military initially rejected him. But with help from his father\u2019s political connections, he joined the Navy and was eventually put in command of a patrol torpedo boat.<\/p>\n When his boat was rammed and sunk by a Japanese destroyer, Kennedy led his crew to safety, even towing a badly injured sailor to shore by holding the man\u2019s life vest strap in his teeth. He was later awarded the Purple Heart and returned to active duty despite his injuries.<\/p>\n While many politicians boast about giving up their salaries, Kennedy quietly lived by it. Coming from wealth, he didn\u2019t need the paycheck, so he donated his congressional and presidential salaries to charity throughout his career.<\/p>\n At the time, he was the wealthiest man ever elected president, yet he ensured he personally profited nothing from the office.<\/p>\n Talk show legend Larry King liked to tell the story of the day he rear-ended JFK\u2019s car in the 1950s, when Kennedy was still a senator.<\/p>\n No one was injured, but Kennedy scolded the young driver before letting him off the hook\u2014with one condition: that King would vote for him if he ever ran for president. King claimed he kept that promise.<\/p>\n Richard Nixon is infamous for the secret recordings that led to his downfall, but JFK actually started the practice years earlier. Kennedy had the Oval Office wired so he could record conversations, intending to use them later for his memoirs.<\/p>\n These tapes, especially from the Cuban Missile Crisis, have since become invaluable historical records.<\/p>\n Kennedy\u2019s legacy extends beyond politics and into geography. After his assassination, Canada named a newly surveyed mountain in Yukon\u2019s Kluane National Park in his honor.<\/p>\n In a poignant tribute, Robert Kennedy, JFK\u2019s younger brother, became the first person to climb Mount Kennedy in 1965.<\/p>\n John F. Kennedy\u2019s life was far richer and stranger than the polished image often shown in history books. From his brushes with death and health struggles to his secret generosity and unusual love life, Kennedy\u2019s story is filled with fascinating details that go far beyond the presidency.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" John F. Kennedy (JFK) is often remembered as one of…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11230,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[80,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting","category-people"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\u041a\u0435\u043d\u043d\u0435\u0434\u0438](\"https:\/\/www.facts-worldwide.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/JFK-with-sigar.jpg\")
<\/p>\nStockpiling Cigars Before Banning Them<\/h2>\n
![\"\u041a\u0435\u043d\u043d\u0435\u0434\u0438](\"https:\/\/www.facts-worldwide.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/JFK3.jpg\")
<\/p>\nA Historic Inaugural Ball<\/h2>\n
![\"\u041a\u0435\u043d\u043d\u0435\u0434\u0438](\"https:\/\/www.facts-worldwide.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Jfk-war.jpg\")
<\/p>\nRejected From the Military\u2014At First<\/h2>\n
![\"\u041a\u0435\u043d\u043d\u0435\u0434\u0438](\"https:\/\/www.facts-worldwide.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/JFK1.jpg\")
<\/p>\nHe Donated His Salary to Charity<\/h2>\n
![\"\u041b\u0430\u0440\u0440\u0438](\"https:\/\/www.facts-worldwide.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/larry_king.jpg\")
<\/p>\nLarry King Once Crashed Into His Car<\/h2>\n
![\"\u041a\u0435\u043d\u043d\u0435\u0434\u0438](\"https:\/\/www.facts-worldwide.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/nixon-kennedy.jpg\")
<\/h2>\nSecret White House Recordings<\/h2>\n
![\"\u0413\u043e\u0440\u0430](\"https:\/\/www.facts-worldwide.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Mountain-Tribute-to-JFK-Evoked-by-Kennedy-Trip-to-Yukon.jpg\")
<\/p>\nA Mountain in Canada Bears His Name<\/h2>\n
\nFinal Thoughts<\/h1>\n