"Brave officer, able Senator, Son of Harvard; loyal to party, he remains stead-fast to principle." So read the inscription on the honorary Doctor of Laws degree conferred by Harvard on the then junior Senator from Massachusetts, John F. Kennedy '40, at the 1957 Commencement ceremonies.

Following his brother, Joseph P Kennedy, Jr., to the College in the fall of 1936--the year of Harvard --he received the A.B. degree cum laude in June, 1940. His Senior Thesis received a magna and was subsequently published as the book, Why England Slept.

After serving in the Navy with distinction in World War II, Kennedy ran successfully for the House of Representatives in 1946. He served three terms. In 1952, the young Congressman defeated Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. '24 in the election for Senator from Massachusetts.

Mr. Kennedy's brilliant political career reached its zenith on Nov. 8, 1960, the day on which he was elected the thirty-fifth President of the United States. He became then the sixth Harvard alumous to attain, the office.

A month ago, the President sat among ten thousand men of Harvard in the stadium to watch the Crimson tie Columbia, 2-3. It was his last appearance in Cambridge.