Here is a look at the life of United States Senator Ted Kennedy.
Personal:
Birth date: February 22, 1932
Death date: August 25, 2009
Birth place: Boston, Massachusetts
Birth name: Edward Moore Kennedy
Father: Joseph Kennedy
Mother: Rose (Fitzgerald) Kennedy
Marriages: Victoria (Reggie) Kennedy (1992-2009, his death); Virginia Joan (Bennett) Kennedy (1958-1981, divorced)
Children: with Joan (Bennett) Kennedy: Patrick Joseph, 1967; Edward Moore Jr., 1961; Kara Anne, 1960
Education: Harvard University, B.A, 1956; Attended International Law School, The Hague, The Netherlands, 1958; University of Virginia Law School, LL.B., 1959
Military service: US Army, 1951-1953
Religion: Catholic
Other Facts:
The youngest of nine children in the famous Kennedy family.
One of only six senators in US history to serve more than 40 years.
Longtime champion of health care reform.
Notable legislation: Civil Rights Act of 1964, Voting Rights Act of 1965, 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act, 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act, Kennedy-Hatch Law of 1997, and No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
Timeline:
1961-1962 - Serves as the Suffolk County, Massachusetts assistant district attorney.
1962 - Is elected to the US Senate, filling his brother’s, President John F. Kennedy, seat.
1964, 1970, 1976, 1982, 1988, 1994, 2000, 2006 - Re-elected to the Senate.
1964 - Breaks his back in a plane crash.
July 18, 1969 - Drives his car off a bridge in Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts. His passenger Mary Jo Kopechne drowns. Kennedy fails to notify authorities for several hours and later is found guilty to leaving the scene of an accident.
1969-1970 - Serves as the Democratic whip in the Senate.
1979-1980 - Runs unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination in the 1980 presidential election.
1979-1981 - Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
1987-1995 - Chairman of the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee.
April 2006 - Kennedy’s book, “America Back on Track,” is released.
May 2006 - Kennedy’s children’s book “My Senator and Me: A Dog’s Eye View of Washington, D.C.” is released.
August 3, 2007 - Casts his 15,000th roll call vote.
May 17, 2008 - Is rushed to the hospital after suffering a seizure. On May 20, doctors announce Kennedy has a malignant brain tumor.
June 2, 2008 - Undergoes brain surgery.
July 9, 2008 - Returns to the Senate to cast the tie-breaking vote on a Medicare bill. He is met with cheers and applause.
August 25, 2008 - Delivers a speech at the Democratic National Convention in Denver.
January 20, 2009 - Suffers a seizure during a post-inauguration luncheon for President Barack Obama.
February 2009 - Returns to work briefly and casts a vote in support of the stimulus package.
March 4, 2009 - Prime Minister Gordon Brown announces that Kennedy will receive an honorary knighthood from the Queen of England.
April 7, 2009 - Throws out the first pitch at the Boston Red Sox season opener.
April 22, 2009 - President Barack Obama signs into law the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, which creates four national service corps.
August 12, 2009 - Is awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. His daughter, Kara, accepts it on his behalf.
August 25, 2009 - Dies at the age of 77.
September 2009 - Kennedy’s book, “True Compass: A Memoir,” is released.