Kennedy political dynasty

The Kennedy political dynasty is the dynasty founded by Patrick J. Kennedy 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.

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

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 borne out, and the idea largely dropped off the public's radar after Robert Kennedy was assassinated in 1968 and Edward Kennedy was involved in a possible drunk-driving incident (in which a passenger in his car was killed) in 1969. However, a number of Kennedy family members have held high office since then.

Actor and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is associated with the Kennedy family by his marriage to television journalist Maria Shriver, daughter of Eunice Kennedy and Sargent Shriver, although Schwarzenegger is a Republican. Other than Schwarzenegger, a Kennedy by marriage, 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 J. Kennedy is a Congressman from Rhode Island; Joseph P. Kennedy II is a former Congressman from Massachusetts.

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 Rose and Joe Sr. (who served as Ambassador to Great Britain in the years leading up to World War II) 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, later a 1972 vice-presidential candidate, and together they 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. She later served as the U.S. Ambassador to Ireland.
• 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

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