Timeline

Edward Kennedy timeline: 1932-2009

Kennedy, the youngest of nine children born into a legendary political family, died Tuesday after battling a malignant brain tumor for more than a year. Known as the “liberal lion of the Senate,” he served for nearly 47 years, fighting for causes dear to his heart such as civil rights, welfare and healthcare.

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July 25, 1915

family

Joseph Patrick, named for his father, is the first of nine Kennedy children born to Joseph P. and Rose Kennedy. The couple married in 1914. Rose was the eldest daughter of legendary Boston Mayor John F. "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald. Joe's father, Patrick Joseph Kennedy, was a prominent Irish American businessman in Boston.

May 29, 1917

family

John Fitzgerald, known as Jack, is born in Brookline, Mass.

Sept. 13, 1918

family

Rose Marie, known as Rosemary, is born in Brookline, Mass. At 23, she undergoes a lobotomy that leaves her incapacitated for the rest of her life. [Rosemary center]

Feb. 20, 1920

family

Kathleen Agnes, the fourth child, is born.

July 10, 1921

family

Eunice Mary, the fifth child, is born.

May 6, 1924

family

Patricia, the fourth daughter, is born

Nov. 20, 1925

family

Robert Francis, the seventh child, is born.

Feb. 20, 1928

family

Jean Ann, the eighth child, is born.

Feb. 22, 1932

family

The youngest of Joseph P. and Rose Kennedy's nine children, Edward is born in Brookline, Mass.

Jan. 5, 1938

politics

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt appoints Joe Sr. ambassador to Britain.

May 6, 1944

family

Kathleen, 24, marries the Marquis of Hartington in a simple civil ceremony. The marriage unites the wealthy Irish American family with one of England's oldest families. Rose Kennedy, however, objects to the union because the bridegroom is not Catholic. Kathleen's eldest brother, Joe Jr., is the only Kennedy to attend.

Aug. 12, 1944

tragedy

Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., 29, a Navy pilot, is killed when his bomber explodes over the English countryside. [Joe Jr., left, pictured with father and brother Jack.]

May 13, 1948

tragedy

The former Kathleen Kennedy, who became Lady Hartington when she married four years earlier, dies in a plane crash near Saint Bauzile north of Marseilles, France. She had been widowed four months after marrying when her husband, the Marquis of Hartington, was killed in WWII.

June 17, 1950

family

Robert F. Kennedy, 24, marries Ethel Skakel, 22, in St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Greenwich, Conn.

May 23, 1953

family

Eunice Mary Kennedy, 31, marries Robert Sargent Shriver, 38, at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York. [Pictured dancing with her father.]

Sept. 12, 1953

family

More than 800 guests attend the wedding of Sen. John F. Kennedy, 36, and Jacqueline Lee Bouvier, 24, at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Newport, R.I.

April 24, 1954

family

Patricia Kennedy, 29, marries British actor Peter Lawford, 30, at the Church of St. Thomas More in New York.

May 19, 1956

family

Jean Ann Kennedy, 28, marries Stephen E. Smith, 28, in St. Patrick's Cathedral, in New York.

Nov. 29, 1958

family

Edward Kennedy marries Joan Bennett, 22, in her hometown of Bronxville, N.Y. Joan, who had worked as a model, went to the the same college as his sister Jean and sister-in-law Ethel.

Feb. 27, 1960

family

Ted Kennedy's daughter, Kara Anne, is born.

Nov. 8, 1960

politics

John F. Kennedy, 43, is elected 35th president of the United States.

Sept. 26, 1961

family

Ted Kennedy's son, Edward M. Jr., is born.

Nov. 6, 1962

politics

In his first campaign, Kennedy defeats Republican opponent George Cabot Lodge in his bid to fill the Senate seat vacated by his brother John F. Kennedy.

Nov. 22, 1963

tragedy

President John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Texas. His youngest brother, Sen. Edward Kennedy, is in Washington, D.C., when he learns the news.

June 19, 1964

health

Ted Kennedy, 32, sustains three fractured vertebrae and other injuries when a light plane he was traveling in crashes near Southampton, Mass., killing two of his four companions.

Nov. 3, 1964

politics

Kennedy overwhelmingly wins reelection with 74% of the vote.

July 14, 1967

family

Ted Kennedy's son, Patrick Joseph, is born.

June 5, 1968

tragedy

Sen. Robert F. Kennedy is shot in the pantry of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, after giving a speech celebrating his presidential primary victory. He dies the next day.

June 8, 1968

tragedy

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, 36, delivers the eulogy for his brother Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, who was killed by an assassin's bullet in Los Angeles while campaigning for the presidency. Inside New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral family members, the president of the United States, Cabinet members, a personal emissary of Pope Paul VI and others gather to pay tribute.

July 18, 1969

tragedy

Mary Jo Kopechne, 28, drowns when Kennedy's Oldsmobile plunges off a bridge into a tidal pond on Chappaquiddick Island, Mass. Kennedy, 37, delays reporting the accident to police for 10 hours.

July 22, 1969

tragedy

Kennedy arrives for the funeral of Mary Jo Kopechne, 28, accompanied by wife Joan and sister-in-law Ethel Kennedy.

July 25, 1969

tragedy

In a television address, Kennedy says he dove repeatedly into the water to try to save Mary Jo Kopechne, 28. Kopechne, a passenger in his car, drowned after he drove into a tidal pond. Kennedy says he is considering resigning from the Senate and appeals to his constituents for guidance. He says he was irrational in the hours it took him to report the crash.

Nov. 18, 1969

family

Patriarch of the Kennedy clan, Joseph P. Kennedy, 81, dies in Hyannis Port, Mass.

Nov. 3, 1970

politics

In his first campaign since Chappaquiddick, Kennedy, 38, defeats Republican Josiah Spaulding with more than 60% of the vote. In an interview, Kennedy says, "I am committed to remain in the U.S. Senate. The people of Massachusetts expect me to remain there, and I have every intention of doing so."

Jan. 1, 1971

politics

Kennedy becomes chairman of the Senate's Health Subcommittee. One of the first things he does is introduce the Committee for National Health Insurance bill.

Nov. 17, 1973

tragedy

Kennedy's oldest son, Edward Jr., 12, has his right leg amputated above the knee at Georgetown University Hospital, in Washington, D.C. He had recently been diagnosed with cancer.

Nov. 2, 1976

politics

Kennedy, 44, handily defeats his Republican challenger.

Nov. 7, 1979

politics

Kennedy, 47, launches his campaign for the White House, challenging Democratic incumbent Jimmy Carter. In a prepared address in Boston's Fanueil Hall, Kennedy promises to give the country "a forceful, effective presidency in the thick of the action."

Aug. 11, 1980

politics

Kennedy, 48, ends his bid for his party's presidential nomination. Reading from a prepared statement, Kennedy tells supporters at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York: "I have called President Carter and congratulated him. The effort on the nomination is over. My name will not be placed in nomination, but the efforts for Democratic principles must and will continue."

Aug. 12, 1980

politics

In a show of party unity after Kennedy withdraws his challenge, President Carter applauds as he waves to cheering delegates at the Democratic National Convention in New York's Madison Square Garden.

Jan. 21, 1981

family

Kennedy and his wife, Joan, announce that they have agreed to seek a divorce. They issue a joint statement released by the senator's office: "We have reached this decision together, with the understanding of our children and after pastoral counseling."

Nov. 2, 1982

politics

Kennedy defeats Republican businessman Raymond Shamie 62% to 38%.

Dec. 6, 1982

family

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, 50 and his estranged wife, Joan, 46, file for divorce in Barnstable, Mass.

April 25, 1984

tragedy

David Anthony Kennedy, 28, son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of Edward M. Kennedy, dies of a drug overdose in a resort hotel in Palm Beach, Fla.

July 19, 1986

family

Kennedy walks niece Caroline Kennedy down the aisle to marry Edwin Schlossberg in Centerville, Mass. After both of his brothers' assassinations, he played a key role in the lives of their children.

July 1, 1987

politics

Kennedy, 54, a member of the Judiciary Committee, announces his opposition to Robert Bork, a conservative federal appellate judge nominated by President Reagan to the Supreme Court: "The man who fired Archibald Cox does not deserve to sit on the Supreme Court of the United States. He stands for an extremist view of the Constitution."

Sept. 14, 1988

politics

Kennedy's youngest son Patrick J. Kennedy, 21, defeats five-term state Rep. John M. Skeffington Jr. to earn a seat in Rhode Island's legislature. He runs unopposed in November and is re-elected in 1990 and 1992.

Nov. 8, 1988

politics

Kennedy coasts to his fifth term in the U.S. Senate with 66% of the vote.

July 26, 1990

politics

Kennedy joins forces with Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.) to pass the Americans with Disabilities Act. The bill prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability.

Sept. 8, 1990

family

Kennedy's daughter Kara, 30, marries architect Michael Allen, 33, in Our Lady of Victory Roman Catholic Church in Centerville, Mass.

Oct. 25, 1991

tragedy

Shaken by rape charges filed against his nephew William Kennedy Smith, Kennedy takes responsibility for “faults in the conduct of my private life” and pledges to reform his lifestyle, in a speech at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. Smith was accused of raping a 31-year-old Jupiter, Fla., woman whom he met at bar he had visited with his uncle and cousin, Patrick, 23. Smith was acquitted.

Dec. 6, 1991

tragedy

Kennedy, 59, takes the stand to testify in the criminal trial of his nephew William Kennedy Smith, 30, who is accused of raping a 31-year-old Jupiter, Fla., woman. Smith met the woman at a Palm Beach nightclub he visited with his uncle and cousin Patrick, 23. Later, Smith drove her home. He is acquitted of the charges.

July 3, 1992

family

Kennedy marries Washington lawyer Victoria Anne Reggie. Reggie, 38, is the mother of two small children: Curran, 8, and Caroline, 6.

Oct. 13, 1993

family

Edward M. Kennedy Jr., 32, marries Katherine Anne Gershman, 34, at St. Andrew's Roman Catholic Church on Block Island, R.I.

May 19, 1994

family

Jacqueline Onassis dies in her New York City apartment. Kennedy gives the only eulogy at her funeral saying: "No one else looked like her, spoke like her, wrote like her or was so original in the way she did things. No one else we knew had better sense of self.”

Nov. 8, 1994

family

Patrick J. Kennedy, 27, is elected to his first term in the House of Representatives. After serving three terms in the Rhode Island Legislature, Patrick, is elected by 54% of the vote.

Nov. 8, 1994

politics

Kennedy defeats Republican businessman Mitt Romney to win his seventh term in the U.S. Senate.

Jan. 22, 1995

family

Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy dies at 104. Kennedy, her youngest child, delivers the eulogy at her funeral, saying: "Mother always thought her children should strive for the highest place. But inside the family with love and laughter she put each of us in our place."

Aug. 21, 1996

politics

President Clinton signs a major health care reform bill. The legislation which was steered through Congress by Sen. Nancy Kassebaum and Kennedy, guarantees that Americans can change jobs without fear of losing health insurance coverage and limits the length of time that an insurer could deny coverage for a specific preexisting medical condition.

Dec. 31, 1997

tragedy

Michael Kennedy, son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, dies New Year's Eve in a skiing accident at the mountain resort of Aspen. Kennedy, 39, was the second of 11 children born to the former senator and his wife, Ethel.

July 16, 1999

tragedy

John F. Kennedy Jr., 38, editor of George magazine and nephew of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, dies. Kennedy, his wife Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, 33, and her sister Lauren Bessette, 34, died when their red Piper Saratoga crashed in the waters off Martha's Vineyard. They were on their way to the wedding of Rory Kennedy, youngest daughter of Ethel Kennedy and the late Robert F. Kennedy, and filmmaker Mark Bailey.

Nov. 7, 2000

politics

Kennedy overwhelmingly wins reelection, defeating the Republican candidate with 73% of the vote.

Jan. 8, 2002

politics

Kennedy is the lead Democratic senator supporting No Child Left Behind

July 27, 2004

politics

Kennedy speaks at the Democratic National Convention in his hometown of Boston, backing the junior senator from Massachusetts, John Kerry, for the presidency. Kennedy jokes: "I intend to stay in this job until I get the hang of it."

Jan. 7, 2005

family

Rosemary Kennedy, 86, the eldest daughter of Joe and Rose Kennedy, dies at Fort Memorial Hospital in Fort Atkinson, Wis. After she was lobotomized at age 23, Rosemary had lived her life in institutions. In a statement the Kennedy family says: "From her earliest years, her mental retardation was a continuing inspiration to each of us and a powerful source of our family's commitment to do all we can to help all persons with disabilities live full and productive lives."

Sept. 17, 2006

family

Patricia Kennedy Lawford, 82, dies at her home in Manhattan.

Nov. 7, 2006

politics

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, 74, wins his eighth term in the Senate.

June 28, 2007

politics

In a major defeat for Kennedy, the leading Democrat behind an effort to revamp the nation's immigration laws, the bill is defeated in a 46-53 rout.

Jan. 28, 2008

politics

Declaring that "it is time for a new generation of leadership" in America, Kennedy endorses Sen. Barack Obama for president, wrapping the young politician in the mantle of America's best-known political dynasty. The announcement is made at a rally at American University attended by his niece Caroline Kennedy and son, Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I).

May 17, 2008

health

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, 76, is hospitalized after apparently suffering a seizure at his home on Cape Cod, Mass.

May 20, 2008

health

Medical tests reveal that Kennedy, 76, has a malignant glioma on the left side of his brain.

June 2, 2008

health

Kennedy has surgery for a malignant brain tumor at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C.

Aug. 25, 2008

politics

Kennedy attends the DNC, where his niece Caroline Kennedy introduces a video tribute to his life.

Jan. 20, 2009

health

Kennedy, battling brain cancer, collapses at the congressional luncheon after President Obama's inauguration. He is taken by ambulance to Washington Hospital Center. His doctors say he suffered a seizure brought on by exhaustion.

April 21, 2009

politics

In one of his last appearances in the Capitol, Kennedy meets with President Obama at the White House.

Aug. 11, 2009

family

Eunice Kennedy Shriver, 88, dies at Cape Cod Hospital in Hyannis, Mass. Her youngest brother goes to the Shriver home the day of her death and attends a private Mass but not the public memorial.

Aug. 12, 2009

politics

Kennedy is awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. Presenting the medal to Kennedy's daughter, Kara Kennedy, President Obama says, "The life of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy has made a difference for us all."

Aug. 20, 2009

politics

In a poignant letter, an ailing Kennedy asks Massachusetts leaders to change state law to allow his speedy replacement in Congress. He is pictured here Aug. 11, 2009, on his way to the Shriver home on the day of his sister Eunice's death.