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Kennedy family
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Kennedy family is a prominent Irish-American family in American politics and government descending from the marriage of Joseph P. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. The Democratic family is known for its US-style political liberalism. The best known Kennedy is the late President of the United States John F. Kennedy.
Some commentators in the early 1960s made predictions that President John F. Kennedy would be first of a dynasty in the White House. But these predictions were not born out, and the idea largely dropped off the public's radar after Senator Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1968 and Senator Edward Kennedy was involved in a controversial car accident (in which a passenger was killed) in 1969. However, a number of Kennedy family members have held high office since then.
The Kennedy family has had a long history of tragic, untimely deaths. Most famously, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. Previously, his older brother Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. was killed (in a plane explosion) on a special mission toward occupied Europe in World War II. His brother, Robert F. Kennedy, was assassinated in 1968, while campaigning for the Democratic nomination for the presidency.
Prior to that, the late president's sister Kathleen was killed in a plane crash. Later, in the 1980s and 1990s, 2 of Robert Kennedy's 11 children, Michael Kennedy and David Kennedy, as well as JFK's only surviving son, John F. Kennedy Jr., would each die at relatively young ages.
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The family patriarch was Patrick J. Kennedy (1858–1929) who married Mary Augusta Hickey. Patrick Kennedy was a politician involved in the local Democratic Party.
In 1914, their son, Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. (1888–1969) married Rose Fitzgerald (1890–1995), the daughter of Boston Mayor John F. Fitzgerald. Joe Sr. served as United States Ambassador to the Court of St. James's (United Kingdom) in the years leading up to World War II.
Together Rose and Joe Sr. had nine children:
- Joseph Patrick Kennedy Jr. (1915–1944)
- He was killed in action in WWII while flying a bombing mission over Europe. He was single at the time of his death and had no children, though he had been romantically linked to Edith Bouvier Beale, a cousin of his future sister-in-law Jacqueline Lee Bouvier, as well as Katharine Mortimer. (The latter reportedly rebuffed any more-serious involvement with Joe Jr., claiming that his family was too loud for her to contemplate marrying into.)
- John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917–1963)
- He was a U.S. representative, a U.S. senator and the 35th President of the United States. He was assassinated during a motorcade in Dallas, TX. The events surrounding his death remain controversial. He married New York socialite Jacqueline Lee Bouvier and had four children, of which one was stillborn, one died soon after birth, and two survived to adulthood.
- Rosemary Kennedy (1918–2005)
- Likely dyslexic and considered to be slightly brain-damaged from birth, Rose Marie Kennedy (her christening name) was rendered incapable of intelligible speech or caring for herself by a lobotomy, a popular neurosurgical technique of the time, requested by her father, Joe Sr., that was intended to cure her increasing mood swings and make her more manageable. The operation instead reduced her to an infantile state. She lived in a residential care facility in Wisconsin until her death on the 7th of January 2005.
- Kathleen Agnes Kennedy (1920–1948)
- Known as Kit, she married a Protestant, the son and heir to the Duke of Devonshire, over her mother's strenuous religious objections. After being widowed when her husband, the Marquess of Hartington, was killed in action in World War II, she was killed in a plane crash in France with her lover, the 8th Earl Fitzwilliam.
- Eunice Mary Kennedy (born 1921)
- She is best known as the founder of the Special Olympics, an organization she began in honor of her sister Rosemary. She married Robert Sargent Shriver Jr., later a 1972 vice-presidential candidate, and they had five children.
- Patricia Kennedy (1924–2006)
- She married Rat Pack actor Peter Lawford (1923–1984) and had four children.
- Robert Francis Kennedy (1925–1968)
- He was U.S. attorney general in his brother's administration, later served as senator from New York, and was assassinated while running for president in June 1968. He married Ethel S. Skakel and had 11 children.
- Jean Ann Kennedy (born 1928)
- She married Stephen Edward Smith (1927–1990) and had two sons and adopted two daughters. She later served as the U.S. ambassador to Ireland.
- Edward Moore Kennedy (born 1932)
- Known as "Teddy" or "Ted", he has served as a senator from Massachusetts since 1963. Twice married, he has three children from his first marriage and two stepchildren from his second.
- Joseph Patrick Kennedy Jr., had no children
- John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Lee Bouvier had four children:
- Arabella Kennedy 1956 - stillborn
- Caroline Bouvier Kennedy (b. 1957) - a lawyer, the co-founder of the Profiles in Courage Award, the president of the Kennedy Library foundation, and the chairwoman of the American Ballet Theatre. Married Edwin Schlossberg, has three children.
- John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Jr. (1960-1999) - a lawyer and publisher of George magazine, who was killed in a plane crash on July 16, 1999. Married Carolyn Bessette.
- Patrick Bouvier Kennedy (1963), who was born prematurely and died from infant respiratory distress syndrome two days after his birth
- Rosemary Kennedy had no children, profoundly brain-damaged
- Kathleen Kennedy and William John Robert Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington had no children
- Eunice Kennedy and Sargent Shriver have five children:
- Robert Sargent Shriver III (b.1954) - an attorney and President of RSS Inc., a Beverly Hills music, film and philanthropic company. Currently, he is also a Santa Monica city councilman.
- Maria Owings Shriver (b.1955) - Former TV newsanchor and current First Lady of California and wife of Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Has four children.
- Timothy Perry Shriver- (b.1959) chairman of Special Olympics. Married Linda Potter, has five children.
- Mark Kennedy Shriver (b.1964) - a delegate in the Maryland state legislature for two consecutive terms. Married, has three children.
- Anthony Paul Kennedy Shriver (b.1965) activist for mental retardation. Founded the "Best Buddies" movement in Miami where he currently lives. Married, has four children.
- Patricia Kennedy and Peter Lawford had four children:
- Christopher Kennedy Lawford - professional actor.
- Sydney Maleia Lawford
- Victoria Francis Lawford
- Robin Elizabeth Lawford
- Robert Francis Kennedy and Ethel Skakel had 11 children:
- Kathleen Hartington Kennedy Townsend - former lieutenant governor of Maryland, unsuccessful candidate for Maryland governor in 2002. Married David Lee Townsend, has four children.
- Joseph Patrick Kennedy II - former U.S. representative from Massachusetts. Divorced from Sheila Rauch, two sons; currently married to Anne Elizabeth ("Beth") Kelly, no children.
- Robert Francis Kennedy, Jr. - environmentalist and political commentator, attorney and law professor at Pace University School of Law. He is best known for his many successful litigations to prevent water pollution, primarily in the New York area. Divorced from Emily Ruth Black (two children); married in 1994 Mary Richardson, four children.
- David Anthony Kennedy - died of a drug overdose in 1984
- Mary Courtney Kennedy Married Jeffrey Robert Ruhe (divorced) and Paul Michael Hill (separated), has one child.
- Michael LeMoyne Kennedy - died in a skiing accident on Dec. 31, 1997. Married Victoria Gifford (separated), had three children.
- Mary Kerry Kennedy - ex-wife of Andrew Cuomo, who is the son of former New York Governor Mario Cuomo, has three children.
- Christopher George Kennedy - president of Merchandise Mart commercial properties based in Chicago. Married Sheila Sinclair Berner, has four children.
- Matthew Maxwell Taylor Kennedy Married Victoria Anne Stauss, has three children.
- Douglas Harriman Kennedy Married Mary Elizabeth Stark, has three children.
- Rory Elizabeth Katherine Kennedy Married Mark Bailey, has three children.
- Jean Ann Kennedy and Stephen Edward Smith had four children:
- Stephen Edward Smith, Jr.
- William Kennedy Smith - 1991 rape acquittal, physician, activist against land mines
- Amanda Mary Smith, married Carter Hood, two children
- Kym Maria Smith
- Edward Moore Kennedy and Virginia Joan Bennett had three children:
- Kara Anne Kennedy Married Michael Allen, has two children.
- Edward Moore Kennedy, Jr. Married Katharine Anne Gershman, has two children.
- Patrick Joseph Kennedy - current U.S. Representative from Rhode Island
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Many sites on the Internet state that Rose Fitzgerald and her descendants are descended (twice) from the couple William Fitzgerald and Elizabeth Irby of colonial Virginia, the latter being a descendant of William Randolph, who was also an ancestor of Thomas Jefferson, John Marshall, Peyton Randolph, Edmund Randolph, and Robert E. Lee. This is wrong. In fact, the earliest known Fitzgerald ancestor of the Kennedys was James Fitzgerald, who was born in 1772 in Ireland.[citation needed]
- America's Kennedys - An American Dynasty
- "The Kennedys: A Family Tree", St. Petersburg Times Online
- Interactive Kennedy Family Tree
- Kennedy Family Tree, The American Experience (PBS)
- Kennedy Family Tree, Ancestry.com
- The Kennedy family at Political Graveyard
- http://www.kennedy-web.com/