Senator Edward Kennedy Dies at Age 77
Edward "Ted" Kennedy, the iconic Democratic U.S. Senator from Massachusetts who raised a strong liberal voice to American politics for the past four decades, died Tuesday.
He was 77.
"Edward M. Kennedy – the husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle we loved so deeply – died late Tuesday night at home in Hyannis Port," his family said in a statement. "We've lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism, and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever.
We thank everyone who gave him care and support over this last year, and everyone who stood with him for so many years in his tireless march for progress toward justice, fairness and opportunity for all. He loved this country and devoted his life to serving it. He always believed that our best days were still ahead, but it’s hard to imagine any of them without him.”
In May 2008, it was announced that Kennedy had a malignant brain tumor that had been diagnosed only days after he had suffered a seizure while at the family compound in Hyannis Port.
And this past January, he was removed from a post-Inauguration luncheon in National Statuary Hall and briefly hospitalized after suffering a seizure.
Yet even with the series of setbacks and tragedies that have befallen the legendary Kennedy clan, that the seemingly indefatigable leader should fall ill brought forth a spirited show of support from both sides of the political spectrum. Just after Kennedy was admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital, then-President Bush phoned the senator's wife, Victoria Kennedy, to convey the message, "Take care of my friend."
In August, Kennedy electrified the Democratic National Convention, striding onstage unassisted as the 4,400 delegates in the hall rose from their seats to deliver their cheers and screams.
"It's so wonderful to be here! Nothing – nothing – is going to keep me away from this special gathering tonight," said Kennedy, who was introduced by his niece, Caroline Kennedy.
The Kennedy Dynasty
As a member of a fabled political dynasty whose ruthless patriarch groomed his sons for leadership, Edward, the fourth son, was also the youngest of the nine children born to businessman Joseph Kennedy and his wife Rose. The senator's eldest sister, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, 88, died Aug. 11. Jean Kennedy Smith, 81, is now the sole surviving member of that generation of Kennedys.
While it was Joseph Jr. (born in 1915, 17 years before Ted) whom his father eyed for the White House, that dream died in 1944, when WWII pilot Joe Jr. was shot down. Instead, in 1960, second child John ran for the presidency – and won, bringing a glamorous era to Washington politics symbolized as "The New Frontier."
JFK's victory put the entire family in the spotlight. Third son (and seventh child) Robert was appointed his brother's Attorney General, while, in 1962, 30-year-old Edward – a graduate of Harvard and the University of Virginia School of Law – successfully ran for brother John's vacated U.S. Senate seat and handily won the office. He was subsequently re-elected in 1964, 1970, 1976, 1982, 1988, 1994 and 2000 – making him the body's second-longest serving member and earning him the nickname "The Liberal Lion."
Besides promoting environmental, educational and health issues, as well as his home state's historic approval of same-sex marriages, Kennedy served on the Judiciary as well as Armed Services Committees, and was a member of the Congressional Joint Economic Committee and the Congressional Friends of Ireland, and a trustee of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
Always in the Headlines
But just as there were highpoints, so were there unfathomable lows. In 1964, he was hospitalized for several months after being seriously injured in a plane crash that claimed the lives of the pilot and another passenger. So too were his sister Kathleen, in 1948 (at age 2
, and his nephew, John Jr., killed in plane crashes – while brothers John, in 1963, and Robert, 1968, were victims of assassins' bullets.
As the sole surviving male member of that second generation of Kennedys, "Uncle Ted" served as surrogate father to his late brothers' 13 children.
The scandal that essentially torpedoed Edward's hope of ever assuming the presidency – for which he briefly but actively campaigned in 1980 – occurred in summer 1969, when, after a social gathering, the senator drove a car off a bridge into the channel between Chappaquiddick Island and Martha's Vineyard. Kennedy escaped but his passenger, campaign worker Mary Jo Kopechne, drowned in the submerged vehicle.
While the relationship of the two long remained a matter of rumor, in terms of legal fallout Kennedy pleaded guilty to abandoning the scene of an accident and received a suspended jail sentence of two months.
And, despite being raised a Roman Catholic, Kennedy's first marriage, to on-air TV model Virginia Joan Bennett (known as "Joan"), ended in divorce in 1982, after 24 years and three children: Kara (born 1960), Edward Jr. (1961), and Patrick (1967).
In July 1992, Kennedy re-married, Victoria Anne Reggie, a divorced attorney with two children.
Besides his widow and children, Kennedy also leaves five grandchildren – and a lasting imprint on a time in American history considered Camelot.
He was 77.
"Edward M. Kennedy – the husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle we loved so deeply – died late Tuesday night at home in Hyannis Port," his family said in a statement. "We've lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism, and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever.
We thank everyone who gave him care and support over this last year, and everyone who stood with him for so many years in his tireless march for progress toward justice, fairness and opportunity for all. He loved this country and devoted his life to serving it. He always believed that our best days were still ahead, but it’s hard to imagine any of them without him.”
In May 2008, it was announced that Kennedy had a malignant brain tumor that had been diagnosed only days after he had suffered a seizure while at the family compound in Hyannis Port.
And this past January, he was removed from a post-Inauguration luncheon in National Statuary Hall and briefly hospitalized after suffering a seizure.
Yet even with the series of setbacks and tragedies that have befallen the legendary Kennedy clan, that the seemingly indefatigable leader should fall ill brought forth a spirited show of support from both sides of the political spectrum. Just after Kennedy was admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital, then-President Bush phoned the senator's wife, Victoria Kennedy, to convey the message, "Take care of my friend."
In August, Kennedy electrified the Democratic National Convention, striding onstage unassisted as the 4,400 delegates in the hall rose from their seats to deliver their cheers and screams.
"It's so wonderful to be here! Nothing – nothing – is going to keep me away from this special gathering tonight," said Kennedy, who was introduced by his niece, Caroline Kennedy.
The Kennedy Dynasty
As a member of a fabled political dynasty whose ruthless patriarch groomed his sons for leadership, Edward, the fourth son, was also the youngest of the nine children born to businessman Joseph Kennedy and his wife Rose. The senator's eldest sister, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, 88, died Aug. 11. Jean Kennedy Smith, 81, is now the sole surviving member of that generation of Kennedys.
While it was Joseph Jr. (born in 1915, 17 years before Ted) whom his father eyed for the White House, that dream died in 1944, when WWII pilot Joe Jr. was shot down. Instead, in 1960, second child John ran for the presidency – and won, bringing a glamorous era to Washington politics symbolized as "The New Frontier."
JFK's victory put the entire family in the spotlight. Third son (and seventh child) Robert was appointed his brother's Attorney General, while, in 1962, 30-year-old Edward – a graduate of Harvard and the University of Virginia School of Law – successfully ran for brother John's vacated U.S. Senate seat and handily won the office. He was subsequently re-elected in 1964, 1970, 1976, 1982, 1988, 1994 and 2000 – making him the body's second-longest serving member and earning him the nickname "The Liberal Lion."
Besides promoting environmental, educational and health issues, as well as his home state's historic approval of same-sex marriages, Kennedy served on the Judiciary as well as Armed Services Committees, and was a member of the Congressional Joint Economic Committee and the Congressional Friends of Ireland, and a trustee of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
Always in the Headlines
But just as there were highpoints, so were there unfathomable lows. In 1964, he was hospitalized for several months after being seriously injured in a plane crash that claimed the lives of the pilot and another passenger. So too were his sister Kathleen, in 1948 (at age 2
, and his nephew, John Jr., killed in plane crashes – while brothers John, in 1963, and Robert, 1968, were victims of assassins' bullets. As the sole surviving male member of that second generation of Kennedys, "Uncle Ted" served as surrogate father to his late brothers' 13 children.
The scandal that essentially torpedoed Edward's hope of ever assuming the presidency – for which he briefly but actively campaigned in 1980 – occurred in summer 1969, when, after a social gathering, the senator drove a car off a bridge into the channel between Chappaquiddick Island and Martha's Vineyard. Kennedy escaped but his passenger, campaign worker Mary Jo Kopechne, drowned in the submerged vehicle.
While the relationship of the two long remained a matter of rumor, in terms of legal fallout Kennedy pleaded guilty to abandoning the scene of an accident and received a suspended jail sentence of two months.
And, despite being raised a Roman Catholic, Kennedy's first marriage, to on-air TV model Virginia Joan Bennett (known as "Joan"), ended in divorce in 1982, after 24 years and three children: Kara (born 1960), Edward Jr. (1961), and Patrick (1967).
In July 1992, Kennedy re-married, Victoria Anne Reggie, a divorced attorney with two children.
Besides his widow and children, Kennedy also leaves five grandchildren – and a lasting imprint on a time in American history considered Camelot.
Comment