Though often mentioned as a likely candidate, he failed in his only bid bid for the White House, a 1980 bid to unseat fellow Democrat President Jimmy Carter.

That cost him a leadership position in the Senate and perhaps his chance for the presidency. And just a year ago threw his support behind now President Barack Obama, delivering a spirited speech at the Democratic National Convention, despite his cancer treatments.īut his personal life was clouded by controversy, most notably the 1969 accident on the offshore island of Chappaquiddick, Mass., in which a young woman passenger, a one-time campaign aide, drowned. He helped shape dozens of major bills on issues such as civil rights, health and aid for the poor. Senate's most senior and powerful members during long decades of liberal leadership. Unlike older brothers John and Robert, whose lives were cut off in their prime by assassins' bullets, Kennedy - who died late Tuesday at his home in Hyannis Port, Mass., after a yearlong battle with brain cancer - became one of the U.S.

'Ted' Kennedy was the last of four brothers in one of America's most famed but ill-fated political dynasties. He never again ran for the White House, instead focusing on wide-ranging legislative initiatives on Capitol Hill, where he was dubbed the “liberal lion of the Senate.”ĭuring his long Senate career, Kennedy fought for legislation - often with bipartisan support - that spanned a wide range of issues, including education, immigration and health care reform. In 1980, Kennedy made a failed bid to deny President Jimmy Carter the Democratic nomination. Kennedy later referred to his actions as “inexcusable,” and said Kopechne’s death “haunts me every day of my life.” He subsequently pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident and received a two-month suspended sentence.

Kennedy failed to report the incident to the authorities for nearly 10 hours, claiming the delay was because he had suffered a concussion and was exhausted from attempting to rescue Kopechne, who had worked in the Senate office of his assassinated brother, Robert F. On July 18, 1969, Kennedy drove his car off a bridge on Massachusetts’ Chappaquiddick Island, costing the life of his passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, who drowned.

Edward M. Kennedy by Adam Clymer