Is it true that John Kennedy is the author of the phrase “Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is always an orphan”?

It is generally accepted that the catchphrase about the difference in attitude towards winners and losers was first uttered by the 35th President of the United States. We checked whether this attribution is correct.

The authorship of the phrase “Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is always an orphan” is attributed to John Fitzgerald Kennedy by news resources (“News", "Russian newspaper", Lenta.ru), online collections of quotes (peoples.ru "Pearls of thought", "Quotes.info", "Wikiquote"), as well as many famous personalities (for example, Cuban leader Fidel Castro in the book "Reflections of the Comandante", war correspondent Alexander Sladkov and international journalists Valentin Zorin And Igor Fesunenko). Some sources specify that with this phrase the American president commented on the unsuccessful American landing in Cuba.

In 1960, Kennedy's predecessor in the White House, Dwight Eisenhower approved a plan for a military operation to overthrow the Cuban revolutionary authorities led by Fidel Castro. It was assumedthat the American landing would ultimately lead to the creation of an interim government acceptable to Washington. The main striking force was to be about 1,400 ethnic Cubans who had found refuge in the United States and had a negative attitude towards the communist government of the island. They were supposed to be supported by American aviation.

The implementation of the task occurred in the spring of 1961, shortly after John Kennedy took office as President of the United States. However, from the very beginning things did not go according to plan. Cuban intelligence reported to the country's leadership about the impending invasion. An urgent strengthening of all areas suitable for landing was carried out. April 15 American bombers attacked Cuban airfields, however, only two of the 24 aircraft at the country's disposal were disabled - the main part was replaced in advance by mock-ups and faulty aircraft. And on the night of April 17, planes of the Cuban Air Force sunk four transport ships, one of which carried ammunition and heavy weapons. As a result, by April 19, the local army managed to push out the pro-American forces from the island, taking a large number of trophies and prisoners. The next day, April 20, Kennedy gathered members of the American Society of Newspaper Editors in Washington. In his speeches he called the incident “the struggle of Cuban patriots against the Cuban dictator” and said that the United States would learn a lesson from this situation.

A day later, Kennedy's press conference took place - and it has been preserved video recording, And transcript. At the beginning of his conversation with reporters, Kennedy, citing yesterday's statement regarding Cuba, asked them not to delve further into this topic. However, the foreign policy agenda came up again and again, directly or indirectly, in issues addressed to the president. One journalist complained that the State Department and the White House had not publicly presented their version of the events that unfolded in Cuba, which led to the spread of conflicting information regarding the details of what happened. Kennedy's reaction to this remark was next: “Well, I think to answer your question, we have to decide how much good we can say in the interests of the United States. One of the problems of a free society, a problem that is absent in a dictatorship, is the problem of information. Much has been published in the newspapers, and I would not be surprised if those of you in the press will see many briefings from interested people or departments in the next day or two. There is an old saying that victory has a hundred fathers, but defeat is an orphan. And I wouldn’t be surprised if you get a flood of information about all the recent events.”

As we can see, John Kennedy actually mentioned the desired expression, but used a different numeral (“one hundred” instead of “thousand”) and, in addition, called it an old saying. Was this statement really known before April 21, 1961?

It turns out that this is true. For example, in the English translation of the diary of Count Galeazzo Ciano, the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs during the Mussolini era, one can find recording, dated September 9, 1942 and concerning the latest failures of the German army in Africa: “As always, victory has a hundred fathers, and defeat is an orphan (in original - “no one wants to admit defeat.” - Approx. ed.). Now there is a quarrel in Libya, and Kesselring ran to Berlin to complain about Rommel. There are rumors about a possible recall of Rommel." Ciano's diary was completely published in English in 1947 (and published in parts in American newspapers even earlier), so Kennedy, a World War II veteran, had the opportunity to familiarize himself with it. In addition, a phrase with reference to Ciano was also cited in others books 1950s, dedicated to the recent war. And in 1952, the quote as an “old military saying” became the epigraph to one of the chapters of Paul Benjamin’s book “When the geese fly south"

Perhaps it was Galeazzo Ciano who was the author of the aphorism in the version that has come down to us largely thanks to John Kennedy, but statements with a similar meaning have been known since Antiquity. Thus, the Roman historian Cornelius Tacitus (died about 120) in “Biography of Yuri Agricola“Noted: “After all, in any war the following, extremely unjust law invariably operates: everyone attributes success to himself, and blame for misfortune is placed on one.” One may also mention the ancient Greek proverb “Success has many friends” (this is one of variations first part of Kennedy's aphorism). In any case, calling the 35th President of the United States the author of the catchphrase in question is incorrect.

Cover photo: Stockvault.net

Incorrect quote attribution

What do our verdicts mean?

Read on topic:

1. Did Kennedy say that Soviet education was the best in the world?
2. Is it true that John Kennedy, speaking in Germany, mistakenly called himself a Berlin donut?
3. Is it true that the photo shows Jacqueline Kennedy moments after her husband was assassinated?