Edward M Kennedy

Born:

  • 22 February 1932
  • Boston, Massachusetts

Died:

  • 25 August 2009
  • Hyannis Port, Massachusetts
  • His cause of death was a brain cancer

Spouse

Children:

  • Kara Kennedy
  • Edward Moore Kennedy Jr.
  • Patrick Joseph Kennedy

Parents:

  • Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.
  • Rose F. Kennedy

Education:

  • Earned a Bachelor’s in History and Government from Harvard College in 1956
  • Earned a JD from the University of Virginia Law School in 1959
  • Attended the Academy of International Law at The Hague in the summer of 1958

Military Background:

  • United States Army
  • 1951–1953
  • Private 1st Class

Awards and Honors:

  • Made an Honorary Knight of the British Empire in March 2009
  • Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom on 15 August 2009

Life, work, and accomplishments:

  • Won public support with his unconventional but effective public speaking skills during his brother Jack’s presidential campaign.  In a 1962 special election, he won the Massachusetts United States Senate seat vacated by Jack in 1961 when his brother was elected President of the United States.
  • Reelected to eight successive terms that lasted until his death, serving a total of 47 years in the Senate.
  • Deemed by many as the “Lion of the Senate,” Kennedy was considered one of the most effective and well-respected legislators of the past several decades, especially in his ability to cross party lines to get legislation signed into law.
  • He pushed forward progressive policies associated with the Kennedy family, including in the areas of immigration, universal health care, equal rights for the disabled and people of color.
  • Promoted the Civil Rights Act, which was passed into law in 1964
  • Worked to abolish immigration quotas
  • Helped include many Massachusetts historic sites into the National Park System and secured funding for important existing sites
  • Instrumental in establishing AmeriCorps, a community service program; legislation to expand this program, the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act (2009), was named for him

“One of the great lessons I’ve learned from a life in politics is that no reform is ever truly complete. We must constantly keep moving forward, seeking ways to create that more perfect union.”
― Edward M. Kennedy, True Compass: A Memoir