--- description: For a decade prior to his death — and nearly as many years after he was assassinated — LIFE magazine traced the impact of a young president. title: John F. Kennedy at 100—His Career in 20 LIFE Magazine Covers image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7f969db201155597/6988cba97cdbac601ed582c4/1961-08-04-jfk-cover.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [LIFE Magazine](/tag/life-magazine/) ## LIFE Magazine Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # See the 20 Times John F. Kennedy Appeared on the Cover of LIFE Magazine by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/) and [Liz Ronk](/author/liz-ronk/) May 26, 2017 3:00 PM CUT  Aug. 4, 1961 cover of LIFE magazine. Cover photo by Karsh. Aug. 4, 1961 cover of LIFE magazine. Cover photo by Karsh.LIFE Magazine by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/) and [Liz Ronk](/author/liz-ronk/) May 26, 2017 3:00 PM CUT The first time the then-future president appeared on the cover of LIFE magazine, in 1953, the [story](https://books.google.com/books?id=XkIEAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false "undefined") 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](https://books.google.com/books?id=5E0EAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false "undefined") to the[ trials of governing](https://books.google.com/books?id=XFQEAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false "undefined"), 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](http://time.com/3503080/the-best-of-life-37-years-in-pictures/ "undefined") 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](https://books.google.com/books?id=U1IEAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false "undefined"), 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. LIFE Magazine  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. 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. LIFE Magazine  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. LIFE Magazine  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. LIFE Magazine  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. LIFE Magazine  Dec. 6, 1963 cover of LIFE magazine. Cover photo by Fred Ward. LIFE Magazine  Oct. 2, 1964 cover of LIFE magazine. LIFE Magazine  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. LIFE Magazine  Nov. 18, 1966 cover of LIFE magazine. Cover photo by Bill Eppridge. 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. LIFE Magazine  Aug. 7, 1970 cover of LIFE magazine. Cover photo by Jaques Lowe. LIFE Magazine ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4763638/jfk-covers-life/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4763638/jfk-covers-life/"},"headline":"See the 20 Times John F. Kennedy Appeared on the Cover of LIFE Magazine","datePublished":"2017-05-26T15:00:45.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:50:21.099Z","description":"For a decade prior to his death — and nearly as many years after he was assassinated — LIFE magazine traced the impact of a young president","url":"https://time.com/4763638/jfk-covers-life/","keywords":["LIFE Magazine","John F. 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