Kennedy family

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The Kennedy family is an American political family that has long been prominent in American politics, public service, and business. At least one Kennedy family member held federal elective office in every year since 1947, a span of time comprising more than a quarter of the United States's existence.

The descendants of Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and Rose Kennedy include a president of the United States (who had also served in both houses of Congress), five other members of the United States House of Representatives or Senate, and two U.S. ambassadors, a lieutenant governor, three state legislators (one of whom went on to the U.S. House of Representatives), and one mayor.

In addition, Joseph Sr.'s daughter Eunice founded the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (a part of the National Institutes of Health), and founded the Special Olympics. A granddaughter, Maria Shriver, was married to Austrian-born bodybuilder, actor, and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and was instrumental in creating the California Museum for History, Women and the Arts (now the California Museum) .

Members of the family have been involved in public service since 1884, 35 years after their forebears arrived from Ireland.

Video Kennedy family

History

According to genealogist Brian Kennedy in his work JFK's Irish O'Kennedy Ancestors, the Kennedy family who would go on to play a significant role in the United States of America originated from the Ó Cinnéide Fionn (one of the three Irish Gaelic Ó Cinnéide clans who ruled the kingdom of Ormond, along with the Ó Cinnéide Donn and Ó Cinnéide Ruadh). Their progenitor, Diarmaid Ó Cinnéide Fionn held Knigh Castle close to what is today Puckane, County Tipperary in 1546. From there, having lost out to the New English order in the Kingdom of Ireland, they ended up in Dunganstown, New Ross, County Wexford by 1740. It is here that Patrick Kennedy was born in 1823.

The first Kennedys to reside in the United States were Patrick Kennedy (1823-1858) and Bridget Murphy (1824-1888), who sailed from Ireland to East Boston in 1849; Patrick worked in East Boston as a barrel maker, or cooper. Patrick and Bridget had five children; their youngest, Patrick Joseph "P. J." Kennedy, went into business and served in the state Legislature.

P.J. and Mary Augusta Hickey, were the parents of four children. Their oldest was Joseph Patrick "Joe" Kennedy Sr., who amassed a fortune in banking and securities trading, which he further expanded by investing in other growing industries. Joseph Sr. was appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as the first chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, chairman of the Maritime Commission, and U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom in the lead-up to World War II. He served on The Hoover Commission, officially named the Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch of the Government, from 1947-49; the commission was appointed by President Harry S Truman to recommend administrative changes in the federal government.

Joseph Sr. and Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald, were the parents of nine children: Joseph Jr., John, Rosemary, Kathleen, Eunice, Patricia, Robert, Jean, and Ted. John served as the President of the United States, while Robert and Ted both became prominent senators. Every Kennedy to hold elective office has served as a Democrat, while other members of the family have worked for the Democratic Party or held Cabinet posts in Democratic administrations. Many have attended Harvard University, and the family has contributed greatly to that university's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Joseph Sr. expected his eldest son, Joseph Jr., to go into politics and ultimately be elected President. After Joseph Jr. was killed during World War II, Joseph Sr.'s expectations transferred to his second son, John. After returning from Navy service, John served in the U.S. House of Representatives for six years, and later as the junior Senator from Massachusetts until he was elected President in 1960. During John's administration, Robert served as attorney general; brother-in-law, Sargent Shriver, served as director of the new Peace Corps, and Ted was elected to the Senate. The family received intense publicity, often emphasizing their relative youth, allure, education, and future in politics.

The family suffered many tragedies, which contributed to the idea of the "Kennedy curse". In 1941, Rosemary underwent a lobotomy intended to curb her behavioral and emotional issues, but the operation left her incapacitated; Joseph Jr. died in 1944 when the World War II Navy bomber he was flying exploded in flight; Kathleen died in a plane crash in France in 1948; John and Robert were assassinated in 1963 and 1968; and Ted was the driver of his car that went off a bridge and into a channel in 1969, causing his passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, drowned. Of Joseph Sr.'s grandchildren, David died of a drug overdose in 1984; Michael died from injuries sustained in a skiing accident in 1997; John Jr. died in a plane crash in 1999; and Kara died of a heart attack in 2011.

Maps Kennedy family

Genealogy

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Offices held

Italics denote members who married into the family. Only members who held political office are shown below.

• Patrick Joseph Kennedy: Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives 1884-89; member of the Massachusetts Senate, 1889-95.
  • Joseph Patrick Kennedy Sr.: Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 1934-35; chairman of the United States Maritime Commission, 1936-38; United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom, 1938-40.
    • John Fitzgerald Kennedy: Member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts, 1947-53; United States senator from Massachusetts, 1953-60; President of the United States, 1961-63; married Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis: First Lady of the United States, 1961-63.
      • Caroline Kennedy: United States Ambassador to Japan, 2013-17.
    • Eunice Kennedy Shriver, married Sargent Shriver: Director of the Peace Corps, 1961-66; director of the Office of Economic Opportunity, 1964-68; United States Ambassador to France, 1968-70; Democratic nominee for Vice President of the United States in 1972.
      • Bobby Shriver: Member of the Santa Monica, California City Council, 2004-12; mayor of Santa Monica, 2010.
      • Maria Shriver: First Lady of California, 2003-11; married Arnold Schwarzenegger: Chairman of the President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition, 1990-93; and governor of California, 2003-11.
      • Mark Shriver: Member of the Maryland House of Delegates, 1995-2003.
    • Robert Francis Kennedy: United States Attorney General 1961-64; United States senator from New York, 1965-68.
      • Kathleen Kennedy Townsend: Lieutenant governor of Maryland, 1995-2003.
      • Joseph P. Kennedy II: Member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts, 1987-99.
        • Joseph P. Kennedy III: Member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts, 2013-present.
      • Kerry Kennedy: Married Andrew Cuomo (divorced 2005): Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for Community Planning and Development, 1993-1997; 11th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, 1997-2001; 64th Attorney-General of New York, 2007-2010; 56th Governor of New York, 2011-present.
    • Jean Kennedy Smith: United States Ambassador to Ireland, 1993-98.
    • Edward Moore Kennedy: United States senator from Massachusetts, 1962-2009.
      • Edward M. Kennedy Jr.: Member of the Connecticut Senate, 2015-present.
      • Patrick J. Kennedy: Member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives, 1989-93; member of the United States House of Representatives from Rhode Island, 1995-2011.

Since John F. Kennedy's election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1946, there have been very few times in which a Kennedy was not holding public office -- first from December 22, 1960 until January 20, 1961 (from Kennedy's resignation from the Senate to his assumption of the Presidency) and next from Patrick J. Kennedy's departure from the House on January 3, 2011 until Joseph P. Kennedy III's election to the House on January 3, 2013.

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Coat of arms

In 1961, John F. Kennedy was presented with a grant of arms for all the descendants of Patrick Kennedy (1823-1858) from the Chief Herald of Ireland. The design of the arms strongly alludes to symbols in the coats of arms of the O'Kennedys of Ormonde and the FitzGeralds of Desmond, from whom the family is believed to be descended. The crest is an armored hand holding four arrows between two olive branches, elements taken from the coat of arms of the United States of America and also symbolic of Kennedy and his brothers.

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References

src: www.bostonherald.com

External links

• The Kennedys: A Family Tree, St. Petersburg Times Online
• Interactive Kennedy Family Tree, Family Tree Online, a project from GiGaSoft Software GmbH
• Kennedy Family Tree, The American Experience, PBS
• Kennedy Family Tree, The New York Times
• Kennedy Family, The Political Graveyard

Source of the article : Wikipedia