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See the 20 Times John F. Kennedy Appeared on the Cover of LIFE Magazine

2 minute read

The first time the then-future president appeared on the cover of LIFE magazine, in 1953, the story was as light as could be: “LIFE Goes Courting With a U.S. Senator.” Over the course of several pages of photographs, the magazine fawned over the Massachusetts Senator — the “handsomest” man in that legislature, born 100 years ago this Monday on May 29, 1917, so only 36 at the time — and his 23-year-old fiancée Jacqueline Bouvier. “We hardly ever talk politics,” Jackie told the magazine, alongside images of the two playing softball and football.

Over the course of the next decade, LIFE followed the young politician as he did much more than court. From his presidential victory in 1960 to the trials of governing, the events of his time demonstrated why LIFE and the JFK went together so well. Part celebrity report and part serious world news, the coverage captured the Kennedy magic.

But only a little more than half of the times that JFK appeared as the featured image or story on the magazine’s cover during its 37-year-run took place during that Kennedy decade. (When his face appeared on additional covers throughout the magazine’s publication run, it was as an inset or part of collage.) The rest, starting with the Nov. 29, 1963, issue, were different. After Kennedy’s assassination, his legacy endured. He was, as pictured in a 1966 cover that focuses on his brother Robert’s career, an inescapable figure in the background of the political and cultural history that followed.

On the 100th anniversary of his birth, more than half of that time has passed without JFK’s presence. And yet, as these images suggest, his influence has suffused a century.

July 20, 1953 cover of LIFE magazine. Cover photo by Hy Peskin.
July 20, 1953 cover of LIFE magazine. Cover photo by Hy Peskin.LIFE Magazine
Mar. 11, 1957 cover of LIFE magazine. Cover photo by Hank Walker.
Mar. 11, 1957 cover of LIFE magazine. Cover photo by Hank Walker.LIFE Magazine
Apr. 21, 1958 cover of LIFE magazine. Cover photo by Nina Leen.
Apr. 21, 1958 cover of LIFE magazine. Cover photo by Nina Leen.LIFE Magazine
Aug. 24, 1959 cover of LIFE magazine. Cover photo by Mark Shaw.LIFE Magazine
Mar. 28, 1960 cover of LIFE magazine. Cover photo by Stan Wayman.LIFE Magazine
Nov. 21, 1960 cover of LIFE magazine. Cover photo by Paul Schutzer.
Nov. 21, 1960 cover of LIFE magazine. Cover photo by Paul Schutzer.LIFE Magazine
Dec. 19, 1960 cover of LIFE magazine. Cover photo by Stanley Tretick.
Dec. 19, 1960 cover of LIFE magazine. Cover photo by Stanley Tretick.LIFE Magazine
Jan. 27, 1961 cover of LIFE magazine. Cover photo by Leonard McCombe.
Jan. 27, 1961 cover of LIFE magazine. Cover photo by Leonard McCombe.LIFE Magazine
June 9, 1961 cover of LIFE magazine. Cover photo by Paul Schutzer.
June 9, 1961 cover of LIFE magazine. Cover photo by Paul Schutzer.LIFE Magazine
Aug. 4, 1961 cover of LIFE magazine. Cover photo by Karsh.
Aug. 4, 1961 cover of LIFE magazine. Cover photo by Karsh.LIFE Magazine
July 13, 1961 cover of LIFE magazine. Cover photo by John Dominis.
July 13, 1961 cover of LIFE magazine. Cover photo by John Dominis.LIFE Magazine
Nov. 19, 1963 cover of LIFE magazine. Cover photo by Karsh, Ottawa.
Nov. 19, 1963 cover of LIFE magazine. Cover photo by Karsh, Ottawa.LIFE Magazine
Dec. 6, 1963 cover of LIFE magazine. Cover photo by Fred Ward.
Dec. 6, 1963 cover of LIFE magazine. Cover photo by Fred Ward.LIFE Magazine
Oct. 2, 1964 cover of LIFE magazine.
Oct. 2, 1964 cover of LIFE magazine. LIFE Magazine
July 16, 1965 cover of LIFE magazine. Cover photo by Mark Shaw.
July 16, 1965 cover of LIFE magazine. Cover photo by Mark Shaw.LIFE Magazine
Nov. 5, 1965 cover of LIFE magazine. Cover painting by James Fosburgh.
Nov. 5, 1965 cover of LIFE magazine. Cover painting by James Fosburgh.LIFE Magazine
Nov. 18, 1966 cover of LIFE magazine. Cover photo by Bill Eppridge.
Nov. 18, 1966 cover of LIFE magazine. Cover photo by Bill Eppridge.LIFE Magazine
Nov. 25, 1966 cover of LIFE magazine.
Nov. 25, 1966 cover of LIFE magazine. LIFE Magazine
Nov. 24, 1967 cover of LIFE magazine. Main cover photo by John Dominis, insert by Zintgraff.
Nov. 24, 1967 cover of LIFE magazine. Main cover photo by John Dominis, insert by Zintgraff.LIFE Magazine
Aug. 7, 1970 cover of LIFE magazine. Cover photo by Jaques Lowe.
Aug. 7, 1970 cover of LIFE magazine. Cover photo by Jaques Lowe.LIFE Magazine

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Write to Lily Rothman at lily.rothman@time.com