U.S. President John F. Kennedy delivered his only inaugural address at 12:51 Friday, January 20, 1961, immediately after taking the presidential oath of office administered by Chief Justice Earl Warren. John Kennedy was nominated as the Democratic candidate for the presidency in the 1960 presidential election, defeating Republican candidate and Vice President Richard Nixon. In doing so he became the youngest man elected U.S. president and the first Roman Catholic president, but not the youngest president. By a twist of fate, Kennedy, in replacing Dwight D. Eisenhower, then 70, made the... youngest elected president replace the oldest to serve at that time . Kennedy took the oath of office at at 12:51 Friday, 20 January 1961, and gave the speech afterwards. The address is 1364 words and took 13 minutes and 59 seconds to deliver, from the first word to the last word, not including applause at the end, making it the fourth-shortest inaugural address ever delivered. It is widely considered to be among the best presidential inauguration speeches in American history.
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January 20, 1961
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