John F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), known as JFK, was the thirty-fifth President of the United States. In 1960 he became the youngest person ever to be elected to the office, and the second youngest, after Theodore Roosevelt, to serve. Kennedy served from January 20, 1961 until his assassination on November 22, 1963.

A veteran of World War II, Kennedy represented the state of Massachusetts in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1947 to 1953 as a Democrat, and in the U.S. Senate from 1953 until 1960. Kennedy defeated incumbent Republican Vice President Richard Nixon in the 1960 U.S. presidential election, one of the closest in American history. As of 2016, he is the only practicing Roman Catholic to be president. Events during his administration include the Bay of Pigs Invasion in Cuba, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the building of the Berlin Wall in Germany, the Space Race, the African American Civil Rights Movement and early events of the Vietnam War.

John F. Kennedy in "Before the Beginning"
The assassination of President John F. Kennedy was one of the more popular time-viewer recordings. The recording could be purchased along with the assassination of his brother Robert, the plane crashes that killed his brother Joseph and his son John, Jr. and the skiing accident that killed his nephew Michael. The time-viewer showed that President Kennedy's assassination was indeed the work of Lee Harvey Oswald working alone.

The time-viewer was also used to make pornographic recordings of Kennedy's sexcapades.

John F. Kennedy in "A Massachusetts Yankee in King Arthur's Court"
During a trip to Britain to meet with Prime Minister Harold Macmillan in 1963, President John F. Kennedy was briefly sent back in time by the magic of a druid named Duncan Morris, who was offended that the American used the image of Camelot in connection with his presidency. Morris sent Kennedy to the historical Cam'lod'n.

Kennedy awoke in bed with a prostitute named Eurolwyn. After some initial panic, Kennedy was able to harken back to his Latin studies and make himself understood. Happily, Kennedy discovered his wallet had come back with him, even though his clothes hadn't. Determining he was now in Arthur's realm, Kennedy made his way to Arthur's castle, spending his loose change freely in the quest for information.

Upon his arrival, Kennedy was frustrated to learn that Arthur was away. However, Kennedy caught the eye of Merlin, an Egyptian priest, who invited Kennedy in. Kennedy shared his story with Merlin, and asked for the mage's help. Merlin agreed. At that moment, Queen Guinevere entered the room. Kennedy resolved to seduce her, and by the glances they shared, Guinevere was receptive to the idea. After a brief tour of the castle, Kennedy and Guinevere found themselves in a store room, where they began intercourse.

After a period, Merlin entered, cheerily proclaiming that he found a spell to send Kennedy home. However, he was horrified by what he discovered and balked at sending Kennedy back, believing Kennedy was immoral. Merlin only relented when Guinevere threatened to tell Arthur that Merlin had touched her inappropriately. Merlin began the spell sending Kennedy home just as Arthur returned to the castle.

Kennedy awoke in his hotel room. He believed that he'd been dreaming until he met with Prime Minister Macmillan, who began their meeting by noting an American dime had been found with otherwise undisturbed post-Roman artifacts in Colchester, confirming for Kennedy that he had not been dreaming.

John F. Kennedy in The Gladiator
President John F. Kennedy's decision to back down during the Cuban Missile Crisis was a signal to the world that the United States was not as serious about fighting the Cold War as it held itself out to be.

Literary Comment
Kennedy is never named in the text. However, the relevant POD of the book is evidently the Cuban Missile Crisis, so it is logical to presume Kennedy was the president who made the decision to back down. Alternatively, it is also possible that a different candidate was nominated and/or elected in November, 1960 who, fearing nuclear war, backed down leading to the POD. However, the story never states this, so it's speculative.

John F. Kennedy in The Valley-Westside War
John F. Kennedy was still revered in an alternate where a Russian-American war devastated the planet in 1967. Rich men wore half-dollar coins with Kennedy's image as amulets, which were supposed to do everything from stop bullets to cure smallpox.

As the Valley-Westside War of 2097 began, Westside City Council Chairman Cal paraphrased Kennedy's exortation that the people "Ask not what the Westside can do for you. Ask what you can do for the Westside."

John F. Kennedy in The Two Georges
John F. Kennedy was a publisher in Boston. Although born and raised in the North American Union, and despite being quite affluent, Kennedy had a strong sense of his own Irish heritage, and hated the British Empire for its past and continued transgressions, from the Potato Famine in the past century to the abject poverty and brutal exploitation of Irish miners in the present. He adopted a separatist stance, which he expressed through the magazine, Common Sense, frequently skirting the edge of legality. He was also a suspected member of the Sons of Liberty.

When The Two Georges was stolen on 15 June 1995, Royal American Mounted Police officers Thomas Bushell and Samuel Stanley, and painting custodian Dr. Kathleen Flannery followed suspected Sons member Joseph Kilbride to Boston, they met with Kennedy, who proved combative in dealing with Bushell, and made very subtle and inappropriate advances towards Flannery.

Kennedy's brother was Archbishop Kennedy, head of the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston.

Literary comment
Harry Turtledove has admitted that the existence of OTL 20th-century figures in this timeline is highly implausible.

Literary Comment
Initially, Winter of Our Discontent was announced as project co-authored by Harry Turtledove and Bryce Zabel. Zabel completed the novel on his own and it was published under the title Surrounded by Enemies: What if Kennedy Survived Dallas? in July 2013. Turtledove wrote the forward for the novel.

The novel posits that John F. Kennedy survives the November 1963 attack without injury. Kennedy goes on to win a second term, but faces impeachment and trial in 1966.