Ted Kennedy: Biography, Education, Quotes, Accomplishments, Campaign Finance (1999)

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Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. He was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and was the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history, having served there for almost 47 years. The most prominent living member of the Kennedy family for many years, he was the last surviving son of Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. and Rose Kennedy; the youngest brother of President John F. Kennedy and Senator Robert F. Kennedy, both victims of assassination; and the father of Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy. Kennedy entered the Senate in a November 1962 special election to fill the seat once held by his brother John. He was elected to a full six-year term in 1964 and was reelected seven more times. The Chappaquiddick incident on July 18, 1969, resulted in the death of his automobile passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne. Kennedy pleaded guilty to a charge of leaving the scene of an accident; the incident and its aftermath hindered his chances of ever becoming President of the United States. His one attempt, in the 1980 presidential election, resulted in a Democratic primary campaign loss to incumbent President Jimmy Carter. Kennedy was known for his charisma and oratorical skills. His 1968 eulogy for his brother Robert and his 1980 rallying cry for modern American liberalism were among his best-known speeches. He became recognized as "The Lion of the Senate" through his long tenure and influence. More than 300 bills that Kennedy and his staff wrote were enacted into law. Unabashedly liberal, Kennedy championed an interventionist government emphasizing economic and social justice, but was also known for working with Republicans to find compromises between senators with disparate views. Kennedy played a major role in passing many laws, including laws addressing immigration, cancer research, health insurance, apartheid, disability discrimination, AIDS care, civil rights, mental health benefits, children's health insurance, education and volunteering. During the 2000s, he led several unsuccessful immigration reform efforts. Over the course of his Senate career and continuing into the Obama administration, Kennedy continued his efforts to enact universal health care, which he called the "cause of my life." In May 2008, Kennedy was hospitalized after suffering a seizure and was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, which limited his appearances in the Senate. He died on August 25, 2009 at his Hyannis Port, Massachusetts home. By the later years of his life, he had come to be viewed as a major figure and spokesman for American progressivism. Born in St. Margaret's Hospital on February 22, 1932 in the Dorchester section of Boston, Massachusetts, Ted Kennedy was the youngest of nine children of Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald, who were members of prominent Irish-American families in Boston,[1] and who constituted one of the wealthiest families in the nation.[2] His elder siblings included Joe, Jr., John, Eunice, and Robert. John asked to be the newborn's godfather, a request his parents honored, though they did not agree to his request to name the baby George Washington Kennedy (the newborn had been born on the first president's 200th birthday); they named him after their father's assistant instead.[3] 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, England,[4] Ted attended ten different schools by the age of eleven, with his education suffering as a result.[5] At age seven, he received his First Communion from Pope Pius XII in the Vatican.[6] He spent sixth and seventh grades in the Fessenden School, where he was a mediocre student,[1] and eighth grade at Cranwell Preparatory School, both in Massachusetts.[4] His parents were affectionate toward him as the youngest child, but also compared him unfavorably with his older brothers.[1] Between the ages of eight and sixteen, Ted suffered the traumas of Rosemary's failed lobotomy and the deaths of Joe Jr. and Kathleen in plane crashes.[1] An early political and personal influence was Ted's affable maternal grandfather, John F. "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald, a former mayor of Boston and congressman.[1] Ted spent his four high school years at Milton Academy prep school in Massachusetts, where his grades were B's and C's and he finished 36th in a class of 56 when he graduated in 1950.[7] Ted did well at high school football there, playing on the varsity his last two years; the school's headmaster later described his play as: "absolutely fearless ... he would have tackled an express train to New York if you asked ... he loved contact sports". He also played on the tennis team and was in the drama, debate, and glee clubs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Kennedy