Mrs. Kennedy’s interest in the cultures of other countries and her fluency in languages made her a popular ambassador around the world. She accompanied her husband on trips to France, Austria, the United Kingdom, Venezuela, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Columbia and also traveled as First Lady to Italy, Pakistan and India.
It was the extraordinary warm welcome afforded to the French-speaking Mrs. Kennedy during her visit to Paris in May 1961 that prompted President Kennedy’s remark, “I do not think it altogether inappropriate to introduce myself…I am the man who accompanied Jacqueline Kennedy to Paris, and I have enjoyed it.”
On November 22, 1963 John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas and Jacqueline Kennedy became a widow at age 34. She planned the President's State Funeral, which was watched by millions around the world who shared her grief and admired her courage and dignity.
Soon after President Kennedy's death, she began the work to build the John F. Kennedy Library which would commemorate her husband's life. She chose then-unknown architect I.M. Pei to design the Library and decided upon a striking location overlooking Boston Harbor.
Jacqueline Kennedy married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis in 1968 on Skorpios, his private island. Following his death in 1975, she embarked on a successful career in publishing.
On May 19, 1994 Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis died in her New York City home. She was laid to rest beside President Kennedy in Arlington National Cemetery outside Washington, DC.