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WORLD: US Senator Teddy Kennedy dies, aged 77

Lion of the Senate: Teddy Kennedy with President Obama
David Gardner|Los Angeles
12 April 2012

Edward Kennedy, head of America's most famous political dynasty ever since the assassination of his two brothers, died today at the age of 77 after suffering a brain tumour.

Known universally as Teddy, he was the second-longest serving senator and put his imprint on every major piece of social legislation, battling for equal rights and healthcare reform.

His career, as standard bearer of his brothers' liberal causes, spanned nearly 50 years, was tainted with controversy and he never achieved his ambition to become President.

But he was known as the "Lion of the Senate" and was the patriarch of a family that was regarded as the closest thing the US had to royalty.

His death is seen as the end of the "Camelot era", a phrase coined to describe the glamour of the John F Kennedy administration of the Sixties.

His family issued a statement saying: "We've lost the irreplaceable centre of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism and perseverance will live on in our hearts for ever.

"He loved this country and devoted his life to serving it. He always believed that our best days were still ahead, but it's hard to imagine any of them without him."


Last picture: Teddy Kennedy, with friends from the Hyannis Yacht Club off Cape Cod

Teddy Kennedy's early years were spent in the shadow of JFK and Senator Robert Kennedy. But after their deaths, he overcame scandal to forge a long and vastly influential career as one of Washington's most powerful Democrat powerbrokers. The youngest of nine Kennedy siblings, he was diagnosed with a brain tumour in May last year and had successful surgery.


Brothers: Teddy with JFK and Robert

A 1980 challenge to President Jimmy Carter ended in defeat, but his concession speech defined his liberal mission. "For me, a few hours ago, this campaign came to an end," he said.

"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die." The clan seemed blighted by the "curse of the Kennedys". Teddy's oldest brother, Joe Jr, died in a plane crash during the Second World War when he was 12. John was assassinated in Dallas in 1963 and Robert was shot dead on the night of the California primary in 1968.

One sister, Kathleen, was killed in a plane crash in 1948. Another, Rosemary, was born mildly mentally handicapped and suffered a botched lobotomy in 1941. She died in 1986 after 50 years in mental hospitals.

Their father Joseph Kennedy was incapacitated by a stroke in 1961 and died in November 1969, leaving the youngest son, Teddy, as head of the family when he was 37. Teddy survived a 1964 plane crash that killed an aide, suffering a broken back that was to plague him for the rest of his life.

Robert Kennedy's son David died of a drug overdose in a Florida hotel in 1984; another of Robert's sons, Michael, was killed in a skiing accident in Colorado in 1997; and John's son John Jr, his wife Carolyn and sister-in-law Lauren Bessette died in a 1999 plane crash off Martha's Vineyard.

Teddy Kennedy is survived by his second wife, Victoria, who he married in 1992; his first wife, Joan; and five children — Patrick, Kara and Edward Jr. from his first marriage, and Curran and Caroline Raclin from his second.

Family legacy

Maria Shriver, 53
The second child and only daughter of politician Sargent Shriver and Eunice Kennedy Shriver. Journalist and author, married to Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Caroline Bouvier Kennedy, 51
The only surviving child of President John F Kennedy and Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. Her brother John died in a plane crash in July 1999. Lawyer and author. Endorsed Barack Obama for President. Touted as a possible appointment to Hillary Clinton's New York Senate seat but declined the nomination.

Jean Ann Kennedy Smith, 81
The sister of President Kennedy and the only surviving child of the nine born to Joseph P Kennedy Snr and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. Appointed US ambassador to Ireland in 1993, she now runs a charity which promotes the artistic talents of mentally and physically challenged children.

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