Kennedy family

The Kennedy family is an influential political family in the United States, known for its liberal politics. Perhaps the best known Kennedy is the late President of the United States John F. Kennedy. Actor and Califoria Governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger is associated with the Kennedy family by his marriage to television journalist Maria Shriver, although he is a Republican.

The Kennedy family is often compared to the Adams family and the Bush family, as among the great American political dynasties. All three families have strong roots in the New England area of the United States.

The dynasty was founded by Patrick J. Kennedy (1858 - 1929) who married Mary Augusta Hickey, by way of their son Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr (1888 - 1969) who married Rose Fitzgerald (1890 - 1995) in 1914. Together Joe Sr. and Rose had nine children:

• Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr (1915 - 1944)
  • Joe Jr. died in combat in WWII while flying a bombing mission over Europe. He was single at the time of his death and had no children.
• John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917 - 1963)
  • JFK was a U.S. Congressman, a U.S. Senator and later President. He was assassinated. He married Jacqueline Lee Bouvier and had three children, two of whom survived to adulthood.
• Rosemary Kennedy (born 1918)
  • Always mentally challenged, she was rendered incapable of caring for herself by a lobotomy requested by her father, Joe Sr. She is currently living in a residental care facility in Wisconsin.
• Kathleen Agnes Kennedy (1920 - 1948)
  • Kathleen married twice and was killed in a plane crash in Europe. She was known as "Kick."
• Eunice Mary Kennedy (born 1921)
  • Eunice is best known as the founder of the Special Olympics, an organization she began in honor of her sister, Rosemary. She married Sargent Shriver and had five children.
• Patricia Kennedy (born 1924)
  • She married Rat Pack actor Peter Lawford and had four children.
• Robert F. Kennedy (1925 - 1968)
  • He was Attorney General of the United States in his brother's administration, later served as Senator from New York, and was assassinated while running for President in 1968. He married Ethel Skakel and had 11 children.
• Jean Ann Kennedy (born 1928)
  • Jean married and had four children.
• Edward Moore Kennedy (born 1932)
  • Known as "Teddy" and the "Liberal Lion" he has served as a Senator from Massachusetts since 1962. Twice married, he has three children. His detractors associate him primarily with the death of Mary Jo Kopechne near Chappaquiddick Island

The most famous Kennedy of the current generation is the late John F. Kennedy, Jr, a lawyer and publisher of George magazine, was killed in a plane crash in 1999. Several of the current generation are involved in national or state politics. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend is a former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland; Patrick Kennedy is a Congressman from Rhode Island; Joseph P. Kennedy II is a former Congressman from Massachusetts.

External links

• "The Kennedys: A Family Tree", St. Petersburg Times Online
• Kennedy Family Tree, The American Experience (PBS)
• Kennedy Family Tree, Ancestry.com
• The Kennedy family at Political Graveyard