Ted Kennedy: United States Senator from Massachusetts from 1962 to 2009
Edward Moore Ted Kennedy (February 22, 1932 - August 25, 2009) was the Senator for the U.S.
state">U.S. state of Massachusetts from 1962 to 2009.
Ted Kennedy | |
|---|---|
 | |
| United States Senator from Massachusetts | |
| In office November 7, 1962 – August 25, 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Benjamin A. Smith II |
| Succeeded by | Paul G. Kirk |
| Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee | |
| In office January 3, 2007 – August 25, 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Mike Enzi |
| Succeeded by | Tom Harkin |
| In office June 6, 2001 – January 3, 2003 | |
| Preceded by | Jim Jeffords |
| Succeeded by | Judd Gregg |
| In office January 3, 1987 – January 3, 1995 | |
| Preceded by | Orrin Hatch |
| Succeeded by | Nancy Kassebaum |
| Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee | |
| In office January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1981 | |
| Preceded by | James Eastland |
| Succeeded by | Strom Thurmond |
| Senate Majority Whip | |
| In office January 3, 1969 – January 3, 1971 | |
| Leader | Mike Mansfield |
| Preceded by | Russell B. Long |
| Succeeded by | Robert Byrd |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Edward Moore Kennedy February 22, 1932 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | August 25, 2009 (aged 77) Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Resting place | Arlington National Cemetery |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Joan Bennett (m. 1958; div. 1983) Vicki Reggie (m. 1992) |
| Relations | See Kennedy family |
| Children |
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| Parents | Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy |
| Education | Harvard University (BA) University of Virginia (LLB) |
| Net worth | $43–162 million (USD) |
| Signature |  |
| Website | Official website |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1951–1953 |
| Rank |  Private (1st Class) |
| Unit | SHAPE |
Early life
Ted Kennedy was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, which is a neighborhood in Boston. He was the youngest son of Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. He was the younger brother of former President John F. Kennedy and Senator Robert F. Kennedy, both of whom were assassinated, as well as Joe Kennedy, who was killed in World War II. A lot of other sad things happened in his life: he almost died in a plane crash, he was involved in a car crash that took the life of a campaign worker, and one of his sons had cancer as a child.
Education
Ted Kennedy went to Harvard and served in the Army before entering politics. He ran for and won the seat given up by his brother when he became president. While in the Senate, he fought for the working class, mainly for health care and the minimum wage. In 1980, he ran for president, but lost in the primaries to Jimmy Carter.
Chappaquiddick incident
On July 18, 1969, Senator Kennedy and passenger Mary Jo Kopechne were driving in Chappaquiddick Island where the car crashed over the bridge into the ocean. Kennedy left the scene leaving Kopechne to drown to death as she was trapped in the car. Kennedy plead guilty. Many believe this is why he decided not to run for President in 1972 or 1976.
Later life
In 2008, he found out he had glioblastoma, a rare form of brain cancer. Despite the cancer, he campaigned for Barack Obama and sometimes appeared in the Senate.
Death
He died from the cancer at his home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts just before midnight on August 25, 2009.
References
This article uses material from the Wikipedia Simple English article Ted Kennedy, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 license ("CC BY-SA 3.0"); additional terms may apply (view authors). Content is available under CC BY-SA 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
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