Kennedy was born in Boston and raised in Massachusetts, New York, Florida, and England. He was expelled from Harvard College for cheating on a freshman year exam but was readmitted two years later following his service in the U.S. Army.
He graduated from Harvard in 1956 and from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1959. His 1958 marriage to Virginia Joan Bennett produced three children and ended in divorce in 1982. He was a manager in his brother John's successful 1960 campaign for president, then worked as an assistant district attorney for Suffolk County, Massachusetts. Kennedy entered the Senate in a 1962 special election to fill the seat once held by John. He was seriously injured in an airplane crash in 1964 and suffered from lifelong back pain as a result. Kennedy was elected to a full six-year term in 1964 and was reelected in 1970, 1976, 1982, 1988, 1994, 2000 and 2006.
In the 1969 Chappaquiddick incident, the car Kennedy was driving ran off a bridge and plunged into water, resulting in the death of passenger Mary Jo Kopechne. Kennedy pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident and was given a suspended sentence; however, the accident significantly damaged his chances of ever becoming President of the United States. Kennedy's lone run for the office, in the 1980 presidential election, ended in a primary campaign loss to incumbent Democratic President Jimmy Carter. Kennedy was known for his oratorical power, with his 1968 eulogy for his brother Robert and his 1980 Democratic National Convention rallying cry for American liberalism being his best-known moments. Kennedy's early opposition and heated rhetoric helped lead to the defeat of the 1987 Robert Bork Supreme Court nomination on philosophical grounds and usher in an era of intense political battles over federal judicial nominations. Kennedy's personal life was often subject to criticism, but his 1992 marriage to Victoria Anne Reggie stabilized his life.
Kennedy was the chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. Due to his long history and influence in the legislature, he became known as "The Lion of the Senate". More than 300 bills that Kennedy wrote have been enacted into law, and he was known for his ability to work with Republicans and to find compromises among Senate members with disparate views. Kennedy played a major role in passing many pieces of legislation that have affected the lives of all Americans, including the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, the National Cancer Act of 1971, the Federal Election Campaign Act Amendments of 1974, the COBRA Act of 1985, the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Ryan White AIDS Care Act in 1990, the Civil Rights Act of 1991, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, the Mental Health Parity Act in 1996 and 2008, the State Children's Health Insurance Program in 1997, the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002, and the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act in 2009. During the 2000s, he was a leader of several failed efforts at immigration reform. Over the course of decades, Kennedy's major legislative goal had been enactment of universal health care, which he continued to work toward during the Obama administration. Kennedy battled a malignant brain tumor first diagnosed in May 2008, which greatly limited his appearances in the Senate; though he survived longer than doctors first expected,[2] he died just before midnight on August 25, 2009 at his home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.[2]
Early life, military service, education
Kennedy was born in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, the youngest of nine children of Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald, who were both members of prominent Irish-American families in Boston.[4] Some of his elder siblings include John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Eunice Kennedy Shriver.
Frequently uprooted as a child as his family moved among Bronxville, New York, Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, Palm Beach, Florida, and the Court of St. James's in London,[5] Kennedy attended ten different schools by the age of eleven.[4] At age seven, he received his First Communion from Pope Pius XII in the Vatican.[6] He spent sixth and seventh grades in Fessenden School, where he was a mediocre student,[4] and eighth grade at Cranwell Preparatory School, both in Massachusetts.[5] His parents were affectionate toward him as the youngest child but also compared him unfavorably with his older brothers.[4] Between the ages of eight and sixteen he suffered the trauma of his sister Rosemary Kennedy's failed lobotomy and the deaths of his brother Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. in World War II and sister Kathleen Agnes Kennedy in an airplane crash.[4] An early political and personal influence was his affable maternal grandfather, John "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald, a former mayor of Boston and U.S. Representative.[4] Kennedy spent his four high school years at Milton Academy prep school, where his grades were ordinary and he did well at football.[5] He also played on the tennis and hockey teams and was in the drama, debate, and glee clubs.[4] He graduated from there in 1950.[7]
Kennedy entered Harvard College, and in his spring semester was assigned to the athlete-oriented Winthrop House, where his brothers had also lived.[8] He played as a large, fearless offensive and defensive end on the freshman football team.[4] In May 1951, anxious about maintaining his eligibility for athletics for the next year,[4] he had a friend who was knowledgeable on the subject take his Spanish language examination for him.[9] The two were quickly caught and expelled, but in a standard Harvard treatment for cases of this kind, they were told they could apply for readmission in a year or two after demonstrating good behavior.[9]
Kennedy enlisted in the United States Army in June 1951.[9] Following basic training at Fort Dix, he requested assignment to Fort Holabird for Army Intelligence training, but was dropped after a few weeks without explanation.[9] He went to Camp Gordon for training in the Military Police Corps.[9] In June 1952, he was assigned to the honor guard at SHAPE headquarters in Paris.[4][9] His father's political connections ensured he was not deployed to the ongoing Korean War.[4][10] While stationed in Europe he travelled extensively on weekends and climbed the Matterhorn.[11] He was discharged in March 1953 as a private first class.[9][11]
He re-entered Harvard in summer 1953 and improved his study habits.[4] He joined the Owl Club in 1954;[12] he was also chosen for the Hasty Pudding Club and the Pi Eta fraternity.[13] On athletic probation during his sophomore year, he returned as a second-string end for Harvard Crimson football during his junior year and barely missed earning his varsity letter.[14] Nevertheless, he received a recruiting feeler from Green Bay Packers head coach Lisle Blackbourn, asking about his interest in playing professionally.[15] Kennedy demurred, saying he had plans to attend law school and to "go into another contact sport, politics."[16] Kennedy became a starting end on the Harvard Crimson football team in his senior year, working hard to improve his blocking and tackling to complement his 6-foot 2-inch, 200 pound size.[11] In the 1955 Harvard-Yale game, which Yale won 21–7, Kennedy caught Harvard's only touchdown pass.[11] He graduated from Harvard in 1956[7] with a B.A. in history and government.[17]
Kennedy enrolled in the University of Virginia School of Law in 1956,[4] and also attended the Hague Academy of International Law during 1958.[7] At Virginia he was in the middle of the class ranking but was the winner of the prestigious William Minor Lile Moot Court Competition.[4][18] While there, his fast automotive habits were curtailed when he was charged with reckless driving and driving without a license.[4] He was officially manager of his brother John's 1958 Senate re-election campaign, and Ted's ability to connect to ordinary voters on the street helped bring a record-setting victory margin that gave credibility to John's presidential aspirations.[19] Kennedy graduated from law school in 1959.[7]
