Close
Not finding the information you're looking for? Please contact the Archives research staff.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-LWH-01
In this interview, Lord Harlech discusses John F. Kennedy’s [JFK] early opinions on disarmament; dealings with Nikita S. Khrushchev and the Soviet Union; the Cuban crisis; issues with selling and testing American missiles; how JFK’s relationship with British Prime Minister M. Harold Macmillan developed over time and how they worked together on specific issues; how JFK’s interest in politics and foreign affairs developed; difficulties with France over their nuclear program in 1962; JFK’s skills and character; JFK’s different circles of friends; and JFK and Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis’ approaches to life in the public eye, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-HEHA-01
Alphand discusses his role as French Ambassador, his impressions of President Kennedy, and the President’s relationship with Charles de Gaulle and France in regards to foreign policy issues, among other issues.
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1961-09-15-G
AR11, KN07
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-MCDM-01
Couve de Murville discusses John F. Kennedy’s (JFK) 1957 speech about Algeria, JFK’s 1961 trip to Paris, and the deterioration of Franco-American relations, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-HJB-01
Bourguiba discusses meetings with John F. Kennedy (JFK) in 1957, 1961, and 1963, his discussions with JFK about Algeria’s war of independence from France, and JFK’s influence on the stature of diplomats from “third world” nations, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-CEB-01
Bohlen discusses John F. Kennedy’s (JFK) views of the Soviet Union; foreign relations crises during the Kennedy administration, including the Bay of Pigs, war in Laos, and Cuban Missile Crisis; and Bohlen’s assessment of JFK as a president and a man.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-04
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] discusses American aid to Argentina; American, British, and French involvement in Africa; the 1962 executive order about segregation in federally-funded housing; appointing African-American judges; changes John F. Kennedy [JFK] was contemplating in the Alliance for Progress; the Dominican crisis; the wheat sale to the Soviet Union; the Bobby Baker case; preparing for JFK’s 1964 campaign; RFK’s return to work after JFK’s assassination and disagreements among the Cabinet members and under President Lyndon B. Johnson; changes in White House staff and the Democratic Party; RFK’s political plans for after 1964; and JFK’s opinions of his staff and appointees, among other issues.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-RFK-01
In this interview Robert F. Kennedy [RFK] discusses beginning John F. Kennedy's [JFK] presidential Administration with no political obligations; carefully picking Cabinet members, specifically Secretaries of State, Defense, and Treasury; RFK’s decision on what role to play in JFK’s Administration; JFK’s unhappiness with Dean Rusk as Secretary of State; JFK’s advisers and other presidential appointments; Cabinet meetings; Department of Justice organization under RFK; the first 100 days of the Kennedy Administration; the role of the Vice President, according to RFK; JFK’s relationship with Lyndon B. Johnson and why JFK put Johnson on the ticket in 1960; what JFK was most concerned with as President; domestic programs versus foreign affairs in the Kennedy Administration; Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.’s role during JFK’s presidency; the Bay of Pigs, the aftermath, and its effect on JFK; how JFK approached problems as President; dealing with Georgi Bolshakov; negotiating with the Soviet Union in Vienna, over Laos and Cuba, etc.; JFK’s relationship with foreign heads of state; State Department staff and U.S. Ambassadors; the military coup in Vietnam; the Berlin crisis of the summer of 1961 and the Berlin Wall; RFK’s 1961 trip to the Ivory Coast; and Soviet and American nuclear testing, among other issues.
Sound recording
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-TPH-11A-1
Sound recording of a telephone conversation held on March 6, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and Under Secretary of State George W. Ball. They discuss the cancellation of a visit by a French official.Machine noise precedes the conversation. [White House Operator?] speaks to Under Secretary Ball while he holds for President Kennedy.
Transcript included. This sound recording was originally recorded on Dictation Belt 11A, which contains additional sound recording(s) following this one. To hear all of the recordings on the Dictation Belt, see Digital Identifier: JFKPOF-TPH-11A, Title: Telephone recordings: Dictation Belt 11A.
Sound recording
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-TPH-11A
Dictation Belt 11A contains six sound recordings. Item 11A.1 is a telephone conversation held on March 6, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and Under Secretary of State George W. Ball. They discuss the cancellation of a visit by a French official. Machine noise precedes the conversation. [White House Operator?] speaks to Under Secretary Ball while he holds for President Kennedy. Item 11A.2 is a telephone conversation held on March 7, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and United States Army General Chester V. Clifton. They discuss the issue of participation of Arkansas National Guard fliers in the Bay of Pigs invasion. The recording begins in mid-conversation. Machine noise follows the conversation. Item 11A.3 is a telephone conversation held on March 7, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and Adrian S. Fisher. They discuss responding to a statement by Senator Thomas J. Dodd of Connecticut. Machine noise follows the conversation. Item 11A.4 is a telephone conversation held on March 7, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and Under Secretary of State George W. Ball. They discuss international trade issues involving the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union. The trade issues involve wool, oil, and a pipe embargo. The dictation belt skips occasionally. Item 11A.5 is a telephone conversation held on March 7, 1963, between President John F. Kennedy and Deputy Attorney General Nicholas deB. Katzenbach. They discuss civil rights issues in Mississippi and Louisiana and briefly discuss Interhandel. The recording begins in mid-conversation. [White House Operator?] ends the call. Machine noise follows the conversation. Item 11A.6 is part of a telephone conversation held on March 7, 1963. First an unidentified man notifies President Kennedy of the death of Thomas J. Shanahan. Then the unidentified man gives Personal Secretary Evelyn Lincoln additional information regarding Shanahan. The recording of this conversation ends abruptly and continues on Dictation Belt 11B.Transcript included. Each item listed above is also available individually as an excerpt derived from this full-length digitized recording. See Related Records for more information.
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1962-10-02-E
AR28
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1962-10-16-C
AR28
Textual folder
Kennedy Family Collection
KFC-067-001
This photograph album, compiled by Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, documents the travels of the Kennedy family in 1938 and 1939 during Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.'s tenure as United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom. Of note are photographs of the family's trans-Atlantic voyage from the United States to London, England, aboard the S.S. Washington; their residence at 14 Prince's Gate in London; a Changing of Guard ceremony outside Buckingham Palace, including photos taken by Edward M. “Ted” Kennedy with his box camera; members of the Life Guards regiment of the British Army; the Serpentine recreational lake and Kensington Gardens in London; "Barroc End," the home the Kennedy family rented in Ascot, England; Paris, Fontainebleau, Barbizon, Cannes, Mougins, and Antibes, France; Interlakken, the Rhone Glacier, Lucerne, and the Little Scheidegg mountain pass in Switzerland; Cologne and Rüdesheim am Rhein, Germany, as well as views from aboard a steamship on the Rhine River; Marken and Volendam, Holland (the Netherlands); Blarney and Cork, Ireland; Vatican City; and Rome, Italy. Those pictured include Rose; Joseph, Sr.; Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr.; John F. Kennedy; Rosemary Kennedy; Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy; Eunice Kennedy; Patricia “Pat” Kennedy; Robert F. “Bob” Kennedy; Jean Kennedy; Ted; Kennedy family friends, Edward E. Moore and Mary Moore; Governess to the Kennedy children, Elizabeth Dunn (referred to as “Dunn” in original captions); and nurse to the Kennedy children, Luella Hennessey. Many leaves contain original handwritten captions in white ink, although the handwriting does not belong to Rose and the writer has not been determined. Original handwritten inscriptions are written in black and blue ink and pencil on the versos of many photographs. This photograph album contains 150 photographic prints.
Textual folder
Kennedy Family Collection
KFC-064-001
This scrapbook, compiled by Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, contains newspaper and magazine clippings from 1938 and 1939 that document a wide range of activities of the Kennedy family during Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.’s tenure as United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom. Of note are clippings related to the family’s trans-Atlantic voyage aboard the S.S. Washington and arrival in London, England; their residence at 14 Prince’s Gate in London; Kathleen Kennedy's purported relationship with J. Peter Grace, son of W.R. Grace and Company president, Joseph Peter Grace, Sr.; Ambassador Kennedy’s first speech in his diplomatic role; Rose and Viscountess Nancy Astor’s attendance at a luncheon at the American Women's Club; Joseph P. "Joe" Kennedy, Jr.’s participation on the Harvard University rugby team; Kathleen and Rosemary Kennedy’s presentation at the Court of St. James’s; dances and parties attended and hosted by Ambassador Kennedy and Rose, including one attended by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth; Edward M. “Teddy” Kennedy’s assistance at the ribbon cutting of London’s Children’s Zoo; Ambassador Kennedy’s arrival in London with Joe, Jr., and John F. “Jack” Kennedy, following a trip back to the United States; Ambassador Kennedy’s receipt of an honorary degree from the National University of Ireland; the family’s vacations in France and Ireland; winter activities including skating and skiing in St. Moritz, Switzerland; Jack's impressions of Europe after a month abroad in England, Germany, and France; Kathleen's relationship with William “Billy” Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington; the family’s audience with Pope Pius XII at his coronation in Vatican City; Kathleen and Joe, Jr.’s visit to Madrid, Spain; Eunice Kennedy’s presentation at the Court of St. James’s; and Billy Hartington’s coming of age party. This scrapbook contains 417 newspaper and magazine clippings.
Textual folder
Kennedy Family Collection
KFC-061-001
This scrapbook, compiled by Joseph P. “Joe” Kennedy, Jr., documents his education, travels, and other aspects of his life from 1936 to 1940. The scrapbook contains clippings, photographs, postcards, and printed ephemera related to his time at Harvard University; his father, Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.’s tenure as United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom; trips to various European countries; and social events and activities. Newspaper and periodical clippings cover a wide range of topics, including Joe, Jr.’s athletic career and involvement in student government at Harvard; the Kennedy family’s arrival in London, England, following Joe, Sr.'s appointment as ambassador; the prospect of British involvement in the global conflict that became World War II; Joe, Sr.'s opinions on and actions related to the war; and other political and society news and events. Others featured in clippings and pictured in photographs include Joe, Jr.’s mother, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy; his siblings, John F. “Jack” Kennedy, Rosemary Kennedy, Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy, Eunice Kennedy, Patricia Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Jean Kennedy, and Edward M. "Ted" Kennedy; his grandparents, John F. "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald and Mary Josephine Hannon Fitzgerald; his cousin, Joseph Francis Gargan, Jr.; and family friend, Hugh Fraser. Printed ephemera pasted into the scrapbook include invitations to various parties, receptions, luncheons, dinners, weddings, meetings, and banquets, including a ball at Buckingham Palace; event programs; menus; tickets; and calling cards. Of note are a set of fingerprints that Joe, Jr., had taken during a visit to the Boston Police Headquarters; an envelope containing five bird feathers; photographs of Joe, Jr., dressed in drag for a Harvard theater production; clippings related to his purported relationship with figure skater Megan Taylor; a letter from British Member of Parliament, Anthony Eden; photographic prints and postcards that capture a Kennedy family trip to St. Moritz, Switzerland; a photograph of Joe, Jr., aboard the R.M.S. Mauretania; clippings related to Joe, Jr.’s voyage from London to New York City, New York; Spanish paper currency; an unsent postcard addressed to Katherine “Kikoo” Conboy, nanny to the Kennedy children, signed by Joe, Jr.; a photographic postcard signed by Alois Lang, the actor who portrayed Jesus in the 1934 performance of the Oberammergau Passion Play in Bavaria, Germany; contact prints of strips of 35mm black and white negatives that capture scenes from Joe, Jr.’s 1939 trip to Spain with Kathleen following the end of the Spanish Civil War, including images of Spanish Loyalist tanks and damage from the siege of the Alcázar of Toledo; a photographic postcard featuring an image of Adolf Hitler shaking hands with Hermann Göring; signed portrait photos of several unidentified women; and prints of four watercolor illustrations depicting scenes from the Spanish Civil War, credited to “Artillery Lieutenant Luis Serrano.” Other destinations pictured in photographic prints and postcards include Warsaw, Poland; Cannes, France; Capri, Rome, Venice, Naples, and Amalfi, Italy; Copenhagen, Denmark; Czechoslovakia; Killarney and other locations in Ireland; and Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Russia. Original handwritten captions and inscriptions are written in black ink on some of the leaves. This photograph album contains 164 photographic prints and postcards, 134 newspaper and periodical clippings, 29 pieces of printed ephemera, six banknotes and two banknote fragments, four pieces of correspondence, and four prints of watercolor drawings.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-116-011
This folder contains material collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, concerning France. Materials include correspondence between President Kennedy and President of France Charles de Gaulle, a meeting between President Kennedy and French Minister of Finance Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, and the resignation letter of United States Ambassador to France James M. Gavin. Of note is a statement with handwritten annotations by President Kennedy regarding the loan by France of Leonardo da Vinci‘s Mona Lisa to the United States for exhibition at the National Gallery in Washington D.C. This folder contains some foreign language material.
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-116-010
This folder contains material collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, concerning France. Materials pertain to United States Ambassador to France James M. Gavin, military relations between the United States and France, and a dinner at the White House for French Minister of State for Cultural Affairs Andre Malraux. Of note are replies by President of France Charles de Gaulle to messages by Soviet Prime Minister Nikita Khrushchev. Also included in this folder is a transcript of an interview given by French Foreign Minister Maurice Couve de Murville to CBS Television Network. This folder contains some foreign language material.
Textual folder
Joseph P. Kennedy Personal Papers
JPKPP-150-006
Textual folder
Joseph P. Kennedy Personal Papers
JPKPP-148-004
Textual folder
Joseph P. Kennedy Personal Papers
JPKPP-100-018
Textual folder
Papers of John F. Kennedy. Presidential Papers. President's Office Files.
JFKPOF-088a-007
This folder contains material collected by the office of President John F. Kennedy's secretary, Evelyn Lincoln, concerning the Department of State. Materials include a memorandum to the President from Secretary of State Dean Rusk regarding Martin Luther King's upcoming appearance before the United Nations Apartheid Committee, a report by Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs G. Mennen Williams on his trip to West and West Central Africa, a summary of the public reaction to the President's European trip, and a memorandum to the President from Under Secretary of State George W. Ball titled, "Proposed Nuclear Offer to De Gaulle." Also included in this folder is a paper by James Reston titled, "Kennedy and the American Diplomats: State Department Allowances."
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C18828
Guests at the luncheon in honor of Western foreign ministers stand in the Blue Room, White House, Washington, D.C. (L-R) Foreign Minister Dr. Heinrich von Brentano of Germany; President John F. Kennedy; Minister of Foreign Affairs Maurice Couve de Murville of France; Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson; British Minister for Foreign Affairs and Earl of Home Alec Douglas-Home; Secretary of State Dean Rusk.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C18825
Guests at the luncheon in honor of Western foreign ministers stand in the Blue Room, White House, Washington, D.C. (L-R) Foreign Minister Dr. Heinrich von Brentano of Germany; President John F. Kennedy; Minister of Foreign Affairs Maurice Couve de Murville of France; Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson; British Minister for Foreign Affairs and Earl of Home Alec Douglas-Home; Secretary of State Dean Rusk.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-KN-C18824
Guests at the luncheon in honor of Western foreign ministers stand in the Blue Room, White House, Washington, D.C. (L-R) Foreign Minister Dr. Heinrich von Brentano of Germany; President John F. Kennedy; Minister of Foreign Affairs Maurice Couve de Murville of France; Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson; British Minister for Foreign Affairs and Earl of Home Alec Douglas-Home; Secretary of State Dean Rusk.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-AR6786-A
Guests at the luncheon in honor of Western foreign ministers stand in the Blue Room, White House, Washington, D.C. (L-R) Foreign Minister Dr. Heinrich von Brentano of Germany; President John F. Kennedy; Minister of Foreign Affairs Maurice Couve de Murville of France; Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson; British Minister for Foreign Affairs and Earl of Home Alec Douglas-Home; Secretary of State Dean Rusk.