Books and Manuscripts

John F. Kennedy's Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Signing Pen

[Kennedy, John F.]
Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Signing Pen
Washington, D.C., October 7, 1963. Steel-nib fountain ink pen by Esterbrook, black plastic grip and translucent plastic handle; engraved in white “The President-The White House”. In folding wooden presentation case, with brass portrait profile of Kennedy, small silver medallion, photographic portrait of Kennedy, and descriptive placard. Pen lightly worn. From the Forbes Collection.

One of the 16 Esterbrook fountain pens used by President John F. Kennedy to sign the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty on October 7, 1963—an historic achievement of Kennedy’s presidency that brought about a thawing of the Cold War. 

In October 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis pushed the world to the precipice of nuclear destruction, and forced President Kennedy and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev to overcome their differences and reduce tensions between the two nations. Although negotiations to halt the proliferation of nuclear weapons had been attempted by Eisenhower, they were unsuccessful, and by the early 1960s more deadly and advanced bombs had been developed. Kennedy was deeply concerned about this escalation and vowed to “put the nuclear genie back in the bottle”. Following the Crisis negotiations began in earnest, and reflecting the urgency of the moment, after only 12 days, on July 25, 1963, the two nations agreed to ban testing in the atmosphere, in space, and underwater, and pledged to work toward complete disarmament. 

On August 5, the treaty was signed in Moscow by U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko, and British Foreign Secretary Lord Home. Over the next two months, Kennedy lobbied a frightened public and a divided Senate on the merits of the treaty, and on September 23, 1963, the Senate approved the Treaty by a vote of 80-19. It was then sent to Kennedy's desk for ratification, on October 7, where he signed it with this very pen.