JFK+50: Volume 6, No. 2049
THE LION OF THE SENATE DIED SEVEN YEARS AGO TODAYHyannis Port, Massachusetts (JFK+50) The last surviving Kennedy brother, Senator Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy* passed away seven years ago today, August 25, 2009, at his home here in Hyannis Port. The senator had undergone brain surgery and took treatments of chemotherapy and radiation.
Teddy Kennedy, who became a United States senator in 1962 when his brother John F. Kennedy was President, had been diagnosed with a brain tumor in May 2008. At 47 years, he was the fourth longest-serving US Senator in American history.
Ted became known as the "lion of the Senate" and championed causes relating to economic and social justice. He called the fight for universal health care "the cause of my life." After losing a bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1980, Senator Kennedy said...
"...the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die."
John M. Broder of the New York Times, who describes Ted Kennedy as "one of the most effective lawmakers in the history of the Senate," writes that the secret of the Senator's success was "his ability to find Republican allies to get bills passed."
Upon the announcement of Edward M. Kennedy's death, the Kennedy family issued the following statement:
"We've lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light of our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism and perseverance will live in our hearts forever. He loved this country and devoted his life to serving it."
*Edward Moore Kennedy (1932-2009) was born in Boston the youngest of Joseph P. and Rose F. Kennedy's 9 children. Because of his father's work movements, Ted attended 10 different schools by age 11.
EMK graduated from Milton Academy in 1950, served in the US Army, and graduated from Harvard with an A.B. in history and government in 1959.
Ted served in the US Senate from 1962 until his death.
SOURCE
"Edward M. Kennedy, Senate Stalwart, Is Dead at 77," by John M. Broder, The New York Times, August 26, 2009, www.nytimes.com/
Senator Edward M. Kennedy
Massachusetts (D)
Official Photograph
United States Senate Image
Gravestone of Edward M. Kennedy
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington, Virginia
Photo by John White (2016)
