16 Historical Figures Who Suffered from STDs

16 Historical Figures Who Suffered from STDs

Trista - October 8, 2018

16 Historical Figures Who Suffered from STDs
President John F. Kennedy in 1961. White House Photo Portrait/Wikimedia.

2. President John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy has gone down in history for many reasons. He was the first Catholic president, which itself was monumental amid concerns that his allegiances would ultimately lie with the Vatican. He avoided a complete nuclear fallout with the Soviet Union during the Cuban Missile Crisis. His assassination in 1963 led to many conspiracy theories regarding the act being an inside job and remains a source of political distrust to this day. Nevertheless, by today’s standards, JFK probably would have never become president due to his prolific health problems, including an STD that he acquired as a teenager.

Twice a day, the president had to inject himself with corticosteroids because Addison’s disease prevented his body from creating them. As a 37-year-old, he elected to partake in an experimental surgery for Addison’s after being warned by doctors that the procedure could kill him. X-rays that surfaced after his assassination revealed that he had had severe osteoporosis, though the public was mostly unaware that he suffered from chronic back pain. It is unclear what STD he had, as the family destroyed many of his medical records.

Advertisement