Remembering John F Kennedy (1917-1963)

The outstanding election victory of Barack Obama at the age of 47 years old to what many describe as the highest office in the world, reminds us of many similarities back in 1961.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was only 43 years old when he came to office of President of the United States of America. Like Barack Obama, he too raised comment about the unusual nature of his appointment - Kennedy was a practising Roman Catholic. To Kennedy's opponents, this was a concern, but to his many supporters he was a charismatic individual promising to bring change. Like Barack Obama, he was an eliquent speaker, possessing good looks and charm.

But let us hope this is where the similarity ends, as on the 22nd November 1963 in a visit to Dallas Texas, John F Kennedy was shot and killed in what became the most talked-about conspiracy theory in the last 45 years. Having seen the infamous Grassy Knoll in Dealey Plaza for myself - the scene of Kennedy's assassination - you cannot help but think how insignificant a place to change the course of history and what might have been.