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Ethel Kennedy

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Ethel Kennedy (née Skakel /ˈskeɪ.kəl/ SKAY-kəl; April 11, 1928 – October 10, 2024) was an American human rights advocate. She was the wife of U.S. senator Robert F. Kennedy, a sister-in-law of U.S. president John F. Kennedy, and a daughter of businessman George Skakel.

Ethel Kennedy
Kennedy in 1968
Born
Ethel Skakel

(1928-04-11)April 11, 1928
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
DiedOctober 10, 2024(2024-10-10) (aged 96)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
EducationManhattanville College (BA)
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1950; died 1968)​
Children11, including:
FatherGeorge Skakel
FamilyKennedy (through marriage)
AwardsPresidential Medal of Freedom
2014

Early life and education

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Ethel Skakel was born on April 11, 1928, in Chicago, Illinois, to businessman George Skakel and Ann Brannack.[1] She was the sixth of seven children, with a younger sister named Ann and five elder siblings: Georgeann, James, George Jr., Rushton, and Patricia.[2]

Her father George was the founder of Great Lakes Carbon Corporation, which later became a division of SGLCarbon.[3] He was of Dutch descent and a Protestant[4][5][6] while Ann was of Irish ancestry and practiced the Catholic faith. Their children were raised Catholic, and Ethel, a devout Catholic herself, attended mass regularly throughout her life.[7][8] On October 3, 1955, Ethel's parents were both killed in a plane crash in Union City, Oklahoma.[9]

Ethel and her siblings were raised in Greenwich, Connecticut. Ethel attended the all-girls Greenwich Academy, and graduated from the Convent of the Sacred Heart in the Bronx in 1945.[10] In September 1945, Ethel began her college education at Manhattanville College, where she was a classmate of her future sister-in-law Jean Kennedy.[11] She received a bachelor's degree from Manhattanville in 1949.[12]

Ethel first met Jean's brother Robert F. Kennedy during a ski trip to Mont Tremblant Resort in Quebec in December 1945. During that trip, Robert began dating Ethel's older sister Patricia, but after that relationship ended, he began to date Ethel. She campaigned for Robert's older brother John F. Kennedy in John's 1946 campaign for Congress in Massachusetts' 11th congressional district, and wrote her college thesis on his book Why England Slept.[10]

Marriage and family

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Robert and Ethel Kennedy in 1968

Robert Kennedy and Ethel Skakel became engaged in February 1950 and were married on June 17, 1950, in a Catholic ceremony at the St. Mary Church in Greenwich, Connecticut.[13] The Boston Globe noted that the marriage "unites two large fortunes".[14]

After Robert graduated from law school at the University of Virginia, the family settled in the Washington, D.C. area, and Robert went to work for the Justice Department.[10] In 1952, Ethel and Robert moved into a rooming house in Boston, Massachusetts,[15] and she helped contribute to her brother-in-law John's Senate campaign by organizing "tea parties" for potential voters.[16]

In 1956, the Kennedys purchased Hickory Hill from Robert's brother John and his wife, Jacqueline.[17] The estate was situated on six acres in McLean, Virginia, (west of Washington, D.C.) with a 13-bedroom mansion.[10] Robert and Ethel held many gatherings at their home and were known for their impressive and eclectic guest lists.[18] Ethel sold Hickory Hill for $8.25 million in December 2009.[19][20] The couple also owned a home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod.[21]

In 1960, Ethel's brother-in-law John F. Kennedy won the presidential election, at which time he appointed Robert to the post of attorney general.[10] In 1962, President Kennedy assigned Ethel and Robert to tour 14 countries on a 28-day goodwill trip. Though the trip was said to be informal, the host countries viewed Robert and Ethel as stand-ins for the President and the First Lady.[22]

On November 22, 1963, Ethel first learned of John's assassination from her husband. She had answered the phone, identified the caller as Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director J. Edgar Hoover, and handed the phone to Robert, who then informed her of the shooting. Hoover had never called the Attorney General's home before.[23]

In 1964, Ethel supported her husband while he campaigned for and won a seat in the United States Senate, representing New York.[10] During the campaign, Robert was accused of "carpetbagging", and Ethel made light of the criticism by suggesting the slogan, "There is only so much you can do for Massachusetts."[24]

She urged her husband to enter the Democratic primary for the 1968 presidential election. Biographer Evan Thomas portrayed her as Robert's "most consistent advocate of a race for the White House".[25]

Husband's assassination

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Main article: Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy
 
Joan Kennedy, Ethel Kennedy and Ted Kennedy in December 1968

Shortly after midnight on June 5, 1968, Robert F. Kennedy was mortally wounded by Sirhan Sirhan at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles; he died the following day at the age of 42. Ethel was present at the scene and was three months pregnant at the time. President Lyndon B. Johnson declared a national day of mourning. Ethel sent Johnson a handwritten note on June 19, thanking him and his wife, First Lady Lady Bird Johnson, for the help they had given her and the Kennedy family.[26] After her husband's assassination, Ethel publicly stated that she would never marry again, wanting to focus on "furthering his work and legacy".[27] For a time, she was escorted to dinners, parties, and the theater by singer and family friend Andy Williams.[28]

Children

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Robert and Ethel Kennedy had 11 children during their 18-year marriage: Kathleen, Joseph, Robert Jr., David, Courtney, Michael, Kerry, Christopher, Maxwell, Douglas, and Rory,[27] who was born after her father was assassinated.[29] Kathleen served as lieutenant governor of Maryland from 1995 to 2003,[30] Joseph represented Massachusetts's 8th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1987 to 1999,[31] and Robert Jr. ran for president in the 2024 United States presidential election.[32][33][34][35] Her grandson, Joseph Kennedy III, also served in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Massachusetts's 4th congressional district from 2013 to 2021. She outlived two of her sons, David and Michael, who respectively died from a 1984 drug overdose and a 1997 skiing accident.[10]

Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights

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Main article: Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights

Ethel Kennedy founded the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights (now known as Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights)[36] in 1968.[37] In February 2001, Kennedy visited Rodolfo Montiel and another peasant activist at their jail in Iguala, presenting Rodolfo with the Chico Mendes Award on behalf of American environmental group the Sierra Club.[38] In March 2016, Kennedy was among hundreds who marched near the home of Wendy's chairman Nelson Peltz in Palm Beach, Florida, as part of an effort by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, a farm workers' group, to convince the company to pay an additional one cent per pound of tomatoes to increase the wages of field workers.[39] Kennedy's daughter Kerry was president of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, according to the Fund's 2022 annual report.[40]

Later life and death

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Kennedy in 2000

During the late 1970s, with a renewed commitment to public service, Kennedy focused much of her time and energy on various social causes, including the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Project.[41] In 1992, Kennedy and her son Michael made a cameo appearance on the NBC sitcom Cheers in Boston.[42]

During the 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries, Kennedy endorsed Barack Obama.[43] She publicly supported and held fundraisers at Hickory Hill for numerous politicians that included Virginia gubernatorial candidate Brian Moran.[44] Kennedy hosted a $6-million fundraising dinner for Obama at Hickory Hill in June 2008. The $28,500-a-plate dinner was headlined by former Democratic presidential candidate and DNC chairman Howard Dean.[45]

In 2012, Kennedy appeared in a documentary about her life, directed by her youngest child, daughter Rory. The documentary, entitled Ethel, covers Kennedy's early political involvement, her life with Robert F. Kennedy, and the years following his death when she raised eleven children on her own. It features interviews with Ethel and her children interspersed with family videos and archival photos.[46]

 
President Joe Biden with Kennedy's coffin at her funeral, October 2024

In her later years, Kennedy resided at the Kennedy Compound in Massachusetts and in Palm Beach, Florida.[47][48] She died in Boston on October 10, 2024, at the age of 96,[49] after being hospitalized for a stroke she had the week prior.[50] Her funeral was held on October 14 at Our Lady of Victory Church in Centerville, Massachusetts.[51] On October 16, a memorial service was held at the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D.C., with eulogies given by President Joe Biden and former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.[52]

Legacy and awards

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In 1981, President Ronald Reagan honored Kennedy with the Robert F. Kennedy medal in the White House Rose Garden.[53] In 2014, a bridge over the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C., was renamed the Ethel Kennedy Bridge in her honor, in recognition of her advocacy for environmentalism and social causes in the District of Columbia.[54] Also in 2014, Kennedy was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama for her dedication to "advancing the cause of social justice, human rights, environmental protection, and poverty reduction by creating countless ripples of hope to effect change around the world".[55][56]

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Ellen Parker portrays Kennedy in the 1983 miniseries Kennedy, set during the Kennedy presidency.[57] Marnie McPhail portrays Kennedy in the 2002 television film RFK.[58] Kristin Booth portrays Kennedy in the 2011 miniseries The Kennedys, set during the Kennedy presidency,[59] and its 2017 sequel The Kennedys: After Camelot.[60]

References

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Citations

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  1. ^ Batcher, David; Hunt, Amber (December 2, 2014). Kennedy Wives: Triumph and Tragedy in America's Most Public Family. Lyons Press. p. 72. ISBN 978-1-4930-1671-6 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ "A Dynasty Strained". The New York Times. November 19, 2013.
  3. ^ "Home : SGL Group – The Carbon Company". SGLCarbon. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  4. ^ David, Lester (1971). Ethel: The Story of Mrs. Robert F. Kennedy. World Publishing Company. p. 4.
  5. ^ Sheenan, Susan (November 3, 1969). "Heaven Still Has Pearly Gates, Angels, For Ethel". The Palm Beach Post. p. C-4.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ Hilty, James (2000). Robert Kennedy: Brother Protector. Temple University Press. p. 54. ISBN 1-439-90519-3.
  7. ^ Carlson, Adam (April 13, 2020). "Kennedy Matriarch Ethel Turns 92 as Son RFK Jr. Shares Throwback Photos with Birthday Tribute". People. Retrieved June 7, 2023 – via Yahoo! Finance.
  8. ^ Martin, Douglas (October 10, 2024). "Ethel Kennedy, Passionate Supporter of the Family Legacy, Dies at 96". The New York Times. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
  9. ^ Schlesinger, Arthur Meier Jr. (2002). Robert Kennedy and His Times. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, p. 87
  10. ^ a b c d e f g "Ethel Skakel Kennedy". John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
  11. ^ McMullen, Troy (August 26, 2009). "The Last Kennedy: Jean Kennedy Smith". ABC News.
  12. ^ "Ethel Kennedy". Biography. May 25, 2021.
  13. ^ "On This Day: Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Skakel marry in 1950". IrishCentral.com. June 17, 2019.
  14. ^ Oppenheimer 1994, p. 170
  15. ^ Oppenheimer 1994, p. 194
  16. ^ Oppenheimer 1994, p. 193
  17. ^ Rasmussen, Frederick N. (April 10, 2004). "Ethel Kennedy selling Hickory Hill". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  18. ^ Leonard, Mary (October 21, 2003). "'Shock' over plan to sell RFK home". The Boston Globe.
  19. ^ Clymer, Adam; Natta, Don Van Jr. (July 11, 2011). "Family of Robert F. Kennedy Rethinks His Place at Library". The New York Times.
  20. ^ Gowen, Annie (December 1, 2013). "Tech entrepreneur's renovation of Hickory Hill signals new business guard remaking D.C." The Washington Post. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  21. ^ Oppenheimer 1994, p. 242
  22. ^ Oppenheimer 1994, p. 287
  23. ^ Oppenheimer 1994, p. 352
  24. ^ Schlesinger, Arthur M. Jr. (1978). Robert Kennedy and His Times. p. 668.
  25. ^ Thomas, Evan (2002). Robert Kennedy: His Life. Simon & Schuster. p. 23. ISBN 978-0743203296.
  26. ^ Califano, Joseph A. (2015). The Triumph & Tragedy of Lyndon Johnson: The White House Years. Touchstone. p. 304. ISBN 978-1476798790.
  27. ^ a b "Who is Ethel Kennedy? Facts you need to know". IrishCentral.com. June 28, 2018.
  28. ^ Brownstein, Bill (October 15, 2012). "A fascinating portrait of Ethel Kennedy". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved November 14, 2023.
  29. ^ Anderson, Lisa (July 18, 1999). "A child of tragedy postpones her wedding". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  30. ^ "Former President George H. W. Bush to vote for Hillary Clinton: Politico". CNBC. September 20, 2016.
  31. ^ "'Kennedy' Name Returns To Congress As Joe Kennedy III Wins 4th District". boston.cbslocal.com. CBS Local. November 6, 2012.
  32. ^ "Robert F. Kennedy Jr. files paperwork to run for president as a Democrat". CNN. April 5, 2023.
  33. ^ Garrity, Kelly (April 5, 2023). "Robert F. Kennedy Jr. running for president in 2024". Politico. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  34. ^ "Statement of Candidacy". Federal Election Commission. April 5, 2023. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  35. ^ "Robert F. Kennedy Jr. files paperwork to run for president as a Democrat". CBS News. April 5, 2023.
  36. ^ "Ethel Kennedy Fast Facts". CNN. January 28, 2013. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
  37. ^ Santel, James (December 16, 2014). "Introducing Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights" (Press release). Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. Archived from the original on February 18, 2015. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
  38. ^ "Ethel Kennedy visits activists". The Irish Times. February 9, 2001. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  39. ^ "Ethel Kennedy leads farmworkers' protest near home of Wendy's billionaire chairman". Fox News. Associated Press. March 13, 2016.
  40. ^ "Annual Report 2022" (PDF). Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights.
  41. ^ "Ethel Skakel Kennedy". John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum.  This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  42. ^ Oppenheimer 1994, p. 652
  43. ^ "Ethel Kennedy Endorses Barack Obama". Barackobama.com. February 2, 2008. Archived from the original on February 6, 2008. Retrieved February 2, 2008.
  44. ^ Gardner, Amy (April 29, 2009). "Kennedy Matriarch to Host Moran Event". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 31, 2012. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
  45. ^ "$6 million dollar fundraising dinner for Barack Obama". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on December 30, 2011. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  46. ^ "A Mother with Moxie: A New Documentary Explores the Life of Ethel Kennedy by Her Filmmaker Daughter". Vogue. October 17, 2012. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
  47. ^ Casey, Michael; Leblanc, Steve (October 10, 2024). "Ethel Kennedy, social activist and wife of Robert F. Kennedy, has died". Associated Press. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
  48. ^ Seelye, Katharine Q.; Martin, Jonathan (August 1, 2019). "Granddaughter of Robert F. Kennedy Dies After Overdose at Family's Compound". The New York Times.
  49. ^ Kennedy, Robert F. Jr [@RobertKennedyJr] (October 10, 2024). "My mom, Ethel Skakel Kennedy, passed peacefully into Heaven this morning. She was 96. She died in Boston surrounded by many of her nine surviving children and her friends" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  50. ^ Siemaszko, Corky (October 10, 2024). "Ethel Kennedy, matriarch of the famous family, dies at 96". NBC News. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
  51. ^ Kazakiewich, Todd (October 14, 2024). "Relatives, dignitaries pay tribute to family matriarch Ethel Kennedy at funeral". WCVB-TV. Retrieved October 14, 2024.
  52. ^ Baratz, David. "Ethel Kennedy honored at memorial service by Presidents Biden, Obama and Clinton". USA Today. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
  53. ^ Weisman, Jonathan (July 24, 1999). "JFK Jr. visited White House at invitation of Nixon, Reagan". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on September 18, 2015. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
  54. ^ DeBonis, Mike (May 21, 2014). "Ethel Kennedy Bridge is dedicated, at long last". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  55. ^ "President Obama Names Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom". whitehouse.gov. November 10, 2014. Retrieved November 24, 2014 – via National Archives.
  56. ^ "Obama awards Presidential Medal of Freedom to 18". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  57. ^ "Kennedy {parts 1, 2, and 3 of 7} (tv)". Paley Center for Media. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  58. ^ "RFK". Viennale. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  59. ^ Brioux, Bill (April 8, 2011). "Controversial 'Kennedys' features big Canadian contingent". CTV News. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  60. ^ Teixeira, Bianca (April 13, 2017). "Kristin Booth Is the Best Reason to Watch 'The Kennedys After Camelot'". Sharp. Retrieved October 11, 2024.

Further reading

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