Born in 1888, the grandson of an Irish immigrant, Joseph Patrick Kennedy had an enormous drive to acquire both fame and fortune. His often cited goal was to be a millionaire by the age of 35. Within a year and a half of graduating from Harvard College, he had progressed from bank clerk through bank examiner to bank president and was on his way. Publicity from being the youngest U. S. bank president opened doors to other opportunities. Soon his financial enterprises embraced real estate, the stock market and motion pictures. Kennedy's accumulated wealth by 1929 enabled him to establish one million dollar trust funds for each of his children. In the 1930's he began to put his intelligence, personality and money into politics. His involvement in Roosevelt's inner circle during the presidential campaign led him to believe he would receive a cabinet post. Although that never materialized, he was chosen to head the newly created Securities and Exchange Commission, the regulatory body set up to govern the financial community. Later, he headed the Maritime Commission. However, his most famous appointment was that of ambassador to the Court of Saint James. He served from 1937 until 1940 when he retired from public service and returned to the business world. In 1961 he suffered a debilitating stroke followed by relapses and heart attacks that left him virtually incapacitated until his death in 1969.       |
     | GEORGE SKAKEL
| ANN BRANNACK
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Robert F. Kennedy was intense and introverted with a black-and-white philosophy of life. Things, ideas and people were either good or evil and his purpose was to expiate the evil. Very religious, at one point he considered entering the priesthood. After graduation from Harvard University and the University of Virginia Law School, he worked for McCarthy's subcommittee on internal security and then for the committee of inquiry into racketeering and corruption in the labor movement. Based on these hearings he wrote his book on union corruption, The Enemy Within. Bobby played an instrumental part in Jack's presidential election, and was subsequently appointed Attorney General despite adverse public reaction. He presided over the Department of Justice for 44 months, gaining respect as he dealt firmly with civil rights and labor issues. After JFK's assassination Bobby became the head of the Kennedy clan and the inheritor of the Kennedy legacy. Elected to the Senate from New York in 1964, he used that office to gear up for a 1968 presidential bid. He became the champion of the dispossessed and tried to forge a coalition of the young, the poor, blacks and intellectuals. He was well on his way to the nomination when he was assassinated by Sirhan Bishara Sirhan June 5, 1968. |
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MARY COURTNEY KENNEDY
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