John F. Kennedy, 43, becomes the youngest man ever to
be elected president of the United States, narrowly beating
Republican Vice President Richard Nixon. He was also the
first Catholic to become president.

               
SANDY KOZEL

 
CARLATA BRADLEY

In one of the greatest upsets in presidential election
history, Democratic incumbent Harry S. Truman
defeats his Republican challenger, Governor Thomas
E. Dewey of New York, by just over two million popular
votes.

       
In the days preceding the vote, political analysts and
polls were so behind Dewey that on election night,
long before all the votes were counted, the Chicago
Tribune published an early edition with the banner
headline above, “DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN.”          

Harry Truman (left) and his political rival Thomas Dewey.