Jump to content

Ethel Kennedy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Ian Rose (talk | contribs) at 22:12, 11 October 2024 (→Husband's assassination: Trim). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

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

Ethel Kennedy (née Skakel /ˈskeɪ.kəl/ SKAY-kəl; April 11, 1928 – October 10, 2024) was an American human rights advocate. Kennedy was the wife of U.S. senator Robert F. Kennedy, a sister-in-law of U.S. president John F. Kennedy, and sixth child of George and Ann Skakel (née Brannack). Shortly after her husband's assassination in 1968, she founded the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, a non-profit charity working to reach his goal of a just and peaceful world. In 2014, Kennedy was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama.

Early life and education

Ethel Skakel was born on April 11, 1928, in Chicago, Illinois, to businessman George Skakel and his secretary Ann Brannack.[1] She was the third daughter among 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, now a division of SGLCarbon.[3] He was of Dutch descent and a Protestant[4][5][6] while his wife 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]

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.[9] In September 1945, Ethel began her college education at Manhattanville College, where she was a classmate of her future sister-in-law Jean Kennedy.[10] She received a bachelor's degree from Manhattanville in 1949.[11]

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 she wrote her college thesis on his book Why England Slept.[9]

Marriage and family

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.[12] The Boston Globe noted that the marriage "unites two large fortunes".[13]

After Robert graduated from law school, the family settled in the Washington, D.C. area, and Robert went to work for the Justice Department.[9] In 1952, Ethel and Robert moved into a rooming house in Boston, Massachusetts,[14] and she helped contribute to her brother-in-law John's Senate campaign by organizing "tea parties" for potential voters.[15] On October 3, 1955, Ethel's parents were both killed in a plane crash in Union City, Oklahoma.[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.[9] 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.[9] 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 her brother-in-law's assassination from her husband. She had answered the phone, identified the caller as FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, and handed the phone to Robert, who then informed her of the shooting. The FBI Director had never called the Attorney General's home before. Ethel was reportedly devastated by the assassination and worried for her niece and nephew.[23]

In 1964, Ethel supported her husband while he campaigned for and won a seat in the United States Senate, representing New York.[9] 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

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. 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, and she never did, living her remaining 56 years as a widow.[27] For a time, she was escorted to dinners, parties, and the theater by singer and family friend Andy Williams.[28]

Children

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' 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' 4th congressional district from 2013 to 2021. Two of the Kennedys' sons, David and Michael, have died; David died from a drug overdose in 1984, and Michael was killed in a skiing accident in 1997.[9]

Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights

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

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]

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] Following the news of her death, President Joe Biden,[51] and former presidents Barack Obama[52] and Bill Clinton[53] gave tributes to Kennedy.

Legacy and awards

In 1981, President Ronald Reagan honored Kennedy with the Robert F. Kennedy medal in the White House Rose Garden.[54] 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.[55] 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".[56][57]

Portrayals

Ellen Parker portrays Kennedy in the 1983 miniseries Kennedy, set during the Kennedy presidency.[58]

Marnie McPhail portrays Kennedy in the 2002 television film RFK.[59]

Kristin Booth portrays Kennedy in the 2011 miniseries The Kennedys, set during the Kennedy presidency,[60] and its 2017 sequel The Kennedys: After Camelot.[61]

References

Citations

  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. ^ a b c d e f g "Ethel Skakel Kennedy". John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.
  10. ^ McMullen, Troy (August 26, 2009). "The Last Kennedy: Jean Kennedy Smith". ABC News.
  11. ^ "Ethel Kennedy". Biography. May 25, 2021.
  12. ^ "On This Day: Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Skakel marry in 1950". IrishCentral.com. June 17, 2019.
  13. ^ Oppenheimer 1994, p. 170
  14. ^ Oppenheimer 1994, p. 194
  15. ^ Oppenheimer 1994, p. 193
  16. ^ Schlesinger, Arthur Meier Jr. (2002). Robert Kennedy and His Times. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, p. 87
  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.Public Domain 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. ^ House, The White (October 10, 2024). "Statement from President Joe Biden on the Passing of Ethel Kennedy". The White House. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  52. ^ "Ethel Kennedy death: Nancy Sinatra, Maria Shriver, Barack Obama respond. 'What a life.'". Cape Cod Times. October 10, 2024. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  53. ^ "Statement from President Clinton on the Passing of Ethel Kennedy". Clinton Foundation. October 10, 2024. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  54. ^ 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.
  55. ^ DeBonis, Mike (May 21, 2014). "Ethel Kennedy Bridge is dedicated, at long last". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  56. ^ "President Obama Names Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom". whitehouse.gov. November 10, 2014. Retrieved November 24, 2014 – via National Archives.
  57. ^ "Obama awards Presidential Medal of Freedom to 18". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved November 24, 2014.
  58. ^ "Kennedy {parts 1, 2, and 3 of 7} (tv)". Paley Center for Media. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  59. ^ "RFK". Viennale. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  60. ^ Brioux, Bill (April 8, 2011). "Controversial 'Kennedys' features big Canadian contingent". CTVNews. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
  61. ^ Teixeira, Bianca (April 13, 2017). "Kristin Booth Is the Best Reason to Watch 'The Kennedys After Camelot'". Sharp Magazine. Retrieved October 11, 2024.

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ethel Kennedy.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ethel_Kennedy&oldid=1250687679"