 1932 - 2009 (77 years) Submit Photo / Document
Has more than 100 ancestors but no descendants in this family tree.
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| Name |
Edward Moore Kennedy |
| Prefix |
Senator |
| Nickname |
Ted |
| Birth |
22 Feb 1932 |
Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States  |
| Gender |
Male |
| FamilySearch ID |
G8J2-5YV |
| Death |
25 Aug 2009 |
Hyannis Port, Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States |
| Burial |
Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, United States |
| Headstones |
 Submit Headstone Photo |
| Person ID |
I168331 |
mytree |
| Last Modified |
25 Feb 2024 |
| Father |
Joseph Patrick "Joe" Kennedy, b. 6 Sep 1888, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States d. 18 Nov 1969, Hyannis Port, Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States (Age 81 years) |
| Mother |
Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald, b. 22 Jul 1890, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States d. 22 Jan 1995, Hyannis Port, Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States (Age 104 years) |
| Marriage |
7 Oct 1914 |
Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States |
| Family ID |
F42361 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
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| Notes |
- Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an Americ a n lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. senator from Massachusett s f or almost 47 years, from 1962 until his death in 2009. A member of th e De mocratic Party and the prominent political Kennedy family, he was th e sec ond most senior member of the Senate when he died. He is ranked fif th i n United States history for length of continuous service as a senato r. Ke nnedy was the younger brother of President John F. Kennedy and U.S . attor ney general and U.S. senator Robert F. Kennedy. He was the fathe r of Cong ressman Patrick J. Kennedy.
After attending Harvard University and earning his law degree from the U n iversity of Virginia, Kennedy began his career as an assistant distric t a ttorney in Suffolk County, Massachusetts. Kennedy was 30 years old wh en h e first entered the Senate, winning a November 1962 special electio n in M assachusetts to fill the vacant seat previously held by his brothe r John , who had taken office as the US president. He was elected to a fu ll six- year term in 1964 and was later re-elected seven more times. Th e Chappaqu iddick incident in 1969 resulted in the death of his automobil e passenger , Mary Jo Kopechne. He pleaded guilty to a charge of leavin g the scene o f an accident and later received a two-month suspended sent ence. The inci dent and its aftermath hindered his chances of ever becomi ng president. H e ran in 1980 in the Democratic primary campaign for pres ident, but los t to the incumbent president, Jimmy Carter.
Kennedy was known for his oratorical skills. His 1968 eulogy for his bro t her Robert and his 1980 rallying cry for modern American liberalism we r e among his best-known speeches. He became recognized as "The Lion of t h e Senate" through his long tenure and influence. Kennedy and his staf f wr ote more than 300 bills that were enacted into law. Unabashedly libe ral , Kennedy championed an interventionist government that emphasized ec onom ic and social justice, but he was also known for working with Republ ican s to find compromises. Kennedy played a major role in passing many l aws , including the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, the Nationa l Can cer Act of 1971, the COBRA health insurance provision, the Comprehe nsiv e Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986, the Americans with Disabilities Act o f 1990 , the Ryan White AIDS Care Act, the Civil Rights Act of 1991, th e Menta l Health Parity Act, the S-CHIP children's health program, the N o Child L eft Behind Act, and the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act. Du ring the 2 000s, he led several unsuccessful immigration reform efforts . Over the co urse of his Senate career, Kennedy made efforts to enact un iversal healt h care, which he called the "cause of my life." By the late r years of hi s life, Kennedy had come to be viewed as a major figure an d spokesman fo r American progressivism.
On August 25, 2009, Kennedy died of a malignant brain tumor (glioblastom a ) at his home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, at the age of 77. He wa s bu ried at Arlington National Cemetery near his brothers John and Rober t.
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