James Young, M.D.

Dr. James Young (1930 – 2008) was an American White House physician for presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.

Born in Massillon, Ohio, Young become captain of the Duke University football team. He was also on active duty with the U.S Navy for twenty years, between 1955 and 1975. He served as medical director aboard the USS Northhampton, where he met President Kennedy for the first time. A couple of months after meeting Kennedy, Young was asked to become the president’s personal physician. He only cared for the Kennedy family for several months before the president was assassinated in 1963. He stayed with Jackie Kennedy for ten days after the assassination.

Young was vice president and medical director of Massachusetts Blue Cross for twelve years. He also contributed to the book Managing Crisis: Presidential Disability and the Twenty-Fifth Amendment (Fordham University Press) and appeared on the CNN special White House Doctors: The President’s Shadow.

Young died on June 4, 2008, due to complications following a stroke.