American Wall Street stockbroker and socialite. He was the father of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and of socialite Lee Radziwill, and was the father-in-law of John F. Kennedy. Born in Manhattan in 1891. His nickname, "Black Jack", referred to his flamboyant lifestyle. Bouvier attended Philips Exeter Academy and Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School. He then studied at Columbia College, his father's alma mater, where he played tennis for two years before transferring to the Sheffield Scientific School at Yale University. While attending Yale, he was a member of the Book and Snake secret society and the Cloister Club. He graduated in 1914. Upon his graduation, he went to work as a stockbroker at his father and uncle's firm: Bouvier, Bouvier & Bouvier. In 1917, he left the firm to join the United States Navy. When the Navy proved to be too strenuous, he transferred to the United States Army, where he served as a major. His 1920 engagement announcement stated he had served in the Army Air Service. Bouvier was discharged in 1919, whereupon he went back to work as a stockbroker on Wall Street. On April 7, 1920, the New York Sun published an engagement announcement for Bouvier and Miss Eleanor Carroll Daingerfield Carter, of Baltimore. The announcement stated she was a descendant of Reverdy Johnson. The engagement was later called off. Bouvier later married Janet Norton Lee, a daughter of real estate developer James T. Lee, on July 7, 1928, at St. Philomena's Church in East Hampton. They had two daughters, Jacqueline Lee Bouvier and Caroline Lee Bouvier. Bouvier's drinking, gambling, and philandering led to the couple's divorce in June 1940. Bouvier never remarried. By the mid-1950s, Bouvier had sporadic contact with his daughters and family. He spent the majority of his time drinking alone at his New York City apartment located at 125 East 74th Street. In the spring of 1957, Bouvier was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer. He checked into Lenox Hill Hospital on July 27, 1957 to undergo chemotherapy. On August 1, he fell into a coma. He died two days later, on August 3, aged 66. His funeral, which was arranged by his daughters Jacqueline and Lee, was held at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan after which his body was buried in the Bouvier family plot at Most Holy Trinity Catholic Cemetery in East Hampton, New York.
American Wall Street stockbroker and socialite. He was the father of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and of socialite Lee Radziwill, and was the father-in-law of John F. Kennedy. Born in Manhattan in 1891. His nickname, "Black Jack", referred to his flamboyant lifestyle. Bouvier attended Philips Exeter Academy and Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School. He then studied at Columbia College, his father's alma mater, where he played tennis for two years before transferring to the Sheffield Scientific School at Yale University. While attending Yale, he was a member of the Book and Snake secret society and the Cloister Club. He graduated in 1914. Upon his graduation, he went to work as a stockbroker at his father and uncle's firm: Bouvier, Bouvier & Bouvier. In 1917, he left the firm to join the United States Navy. When the Navy proved to be too strenuous, he transferred to the United States Army, where he served as a major. His 1920 engagement announcement stated he had served in the Army Air Service. Bouvier was discharged in 1919, whereupon he went back to work as a stockbroker on Wall Street. On April 7, 1920, the New York Sun published an engagement announcement for Bouvier and Miss Eleanor Carroll Daingerfield Carter, of Baltimore. The announcement stated she was a descendant of Reverdy Johnson. The engagement was later called off. Bouvier later married Janet Norton Lee, a daughter of real estate developer James T. Lee, on July 7, 1928, at St. Philomena's Church in East Hampton. They had two daughters, Jacqueline Lee Bouvier and Caroline Lee Bouvier. Bouvier's drinking, gambling, and philandering led to the couple's divorce in June 1940. Bouvier never remarried. By the mid-1950s, Bouvier had sporadic contact with his daughters and family. He spent the majority of his time drinking alone at his New York City apartment located at 125 East 74th Street. In the spring of 1957, Bouvier was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer. He checked into Lenox Hill Hospital on July 27, 1957 to undergo chemotherapy. On August 1, he fell into a coma. He died two days later, on August 3, aged 66. His funeral, which was arranged by his daughters Jacqueline and Lee, was held at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan after which his body was buried in the Bouvier family plot at Most Holy Trinity Catholic Cemetery in East Hampton, New York.
