Edward Kennedy

Guide Note

Democrat Edward Kennedy, frequently referred to as "Ted" or "Teddy," is the senior Senator from Massachusetts and the second-longest serving Senator in America, after Robert Byrd of West Virginia. He is the younger brother of President John F. Kennedy and former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, and the father of Congressman Patrick Kennedy.

On May 17, 2008 Kennedy was rushed to a hospital in Cape Cod, then airlifted to the Massachusetts General Hospital, after reportedly experiencing "stroke like symptoms".

Fast Fact

1. Born February 22, 1932 in Boston, Massachusetts
2. Alma-Mater: Harvard University
3. Spouse: Victoria Reggie Kennedy
4. Has endorsed Barack Obama for President
5. Ran for President in 1980 against Democratic incumbent Jimmy Carter
6. Named by Time Magazine as one of the 10 Best Senators in 2006
7. Religion: Roman Catholic

Kennedy graduated Harvard University in 1956, after having been expelled five years earlier for cheating on a Spanish test. When Kennedy's brother John won the Presidency in 1960, he was still under 30, and thus not eligible to serve as a replacement. Two years later, on November 6, 1962, Kennedy won a special election and entered the Senate. He was elected to a full term two years later, and has represented Massachusetts there ever since.

He has developed a reputation as one of the most reliably liberal Senators, and an icon and leader in the Democratic Party.

On July 18, 1969, Kennedy was driving Mary Jo Kopechne, a former staffer for his brother Robert, home from a party on the island of Chappaquiddick, near Martha's Vineyard. Kennedy's car veered off the road and into Poucha Pond; he managed to swim to safety, but Kopechne drowned.

Kennedy claims he tried to save Kopechne, and even recruited other party guests in the effort, but he did not report the accident to police until after Kopechne's body was found the next day by some fisherman. He was eventually charged with leaving the scene of an accident after causing injury and was sentenced to two months in jail, but the sentence was suspended. The ensuing scandal has dogged Kennedy's political career and reputation ever since.