Ethel Kennedy (' Skakel; born April 11, 1928) is an American human rights advocate. She is the widow of U.S. Senator
Robert F. Kennedy, a sister-in-law of President
John F. Kennedy, and the sixth child of
George Skakel
George Skakel (July 16, 1892 – October 3, 1955) was an American businessman and the founder of Great Lakes Carbon Corporation, part of SGL Carbon. He was the father-in-law of Robert F. Kennedy
Early life and career
Skakel was born in Chicago, ...
and Ann Brannack. Shortly after her husband's 1968 assassination, Kennedy founded the
Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights
Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights (formerly the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, or RFK Center) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit human rights advocacy organization. It was named after United States Senator Robert F. Kennedy ...
. The organization is a non-profit charity working to fulfill his dream of a just and peaceful world. In 2014, Ethel Kennedy was awarded the
Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merit ...
by President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
.
Early life and education
Ethel Skakel was born in
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
to businessman
George Skakel
George Skakel (July 16, 1892 – October 3, 1955) was an American businessman and the founder of Great Lakes Carbon Corporation, part of SGL Carbon. He was the father-in-law of Robert F. Kennedy
Early life and career
Skakel was born in Chicago, ...
and his former secretary Ann Brannack. Her parents were killed in a 1955 plane crash. She is the Skakels' third of four daughters and sixth child of seven, having five older siblings, Georgeann, James, George Jr., Rushton, and Patricia, and one younger sister, Ann. George was a Protestant of Dutch descent
while Ann was a Catholic of Irish ancestry. Ethel and her siblings were raised Catholic in
Greenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich (, ) is a town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast, Greenwich is home to many hedge funds and othe ...
. George Skakel was the founder of Great Lakes Carbon Corporation, now a division of
SGLCarbon. Ethel attended the all-girls
Greenwich Academy in Greenwich, and she graduated from the
Convent of the Sacred Heart in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
in 1945.
In September 1945, Skakel began her college education at
Manhattanville College
Manhattanville College is a private university in Purchase, New York. Founded in 1841 at 412 Houston Street in lower Manhattan, it was initially known as Academy of the Sacred Heart, then after 1847 as Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart ...
, where she was a classmate of future sister-in-law
Jean Kennedy
Jean Ann Kennedy Smith (February 20, 1928June 17, 2020) was an American diplomat, activist, humanitarian, and author who served as United States Ambassador to Ireland from 1993 to 1998. She was a member of the Kennedy family, the eighth of nine c ...
. Ethel first met Jean's brother,
Robert F. Kennedy, during a ski trip to
Mont Tremblant Resort
Mont Tremblant Ski Resort (commonly referred to as Tremblant) is a year-round resort in the Laurentian Mountains of Quebec, Canada, located about northwest of Montreal. It is best known as a ski destination, but also features Lake Tremblant ...
in
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...
in December 1945. During this trip, Robert Kennedy began dating Ethel's elder sister, Patricia. After that relationship ended, he began dating Ethel. She campaigned for Robert's elder brother,
John F. Kennedy, in his 1946 campaign for the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...
; she also wrote her college thesis on his book ''
Why England Slept''.
Skakel received a bachelor's degree from Manhattanville in 1949.
Marriage and family
Robert Kennedy and Ethel Skakel became engaged in February 1950 and were married on June 17, 1950, at
St. Mary's Catholic Church in
Greenwich, Connecticut
Greenwich (, ) is a town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast, Greenwich is home to many hedge funds and othe ...
.
During the 1950s, Robert F. Kennedy worked for the federal government in investigatory roles for the United States Senate as a counsel. The Kennedys purchased
Hickory Hill, an estate in McLean, Virginia, from Robert's brother John and his wife,
Jackie. Robert and Ethel Kennedy held many gatherings at their home and were known for their impressive and eclectic guest lists.
In 1962, President Kennedy assigned Ethel and Robert to tour fourteen countries within a 28-day goodwill trip. Though the trip was said to be informal, the host countries viewed her and Robert as stand-ins for the President and First Lady.
On November 22, 1963, Ethel learned of President Kennedy's assassination from her husband. She had answered the phone, identified the caller as FBI director
J. Edgar Hoover
John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an American law enforcement administrator who served as the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation ...
and handed the phone over 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.
Ethel urged her husband to enter the Democratic primary for the
1968 presidential election. Biographer Evan Thomas portrayed her as RFK's "most consistent advocate of a race for the White House."
Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy
Shortly after midnight on June 5, 1968, Robert F. Kennedy was mortally wounded by
Sirhan Sirhan
Sirhan Bishara Sirhan (; ar, سرحان بشارة سرحان ''Sirḥān Bišāra Sirḥān'', born March 19, 1944) is a Palestinian Jordanian man who was convicted for the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy.
Kennedy, a United States Sena ...
and died early the next day at the age of 42. U.S. President
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
declared a national day of mourning. Ethel sent Johnson a handwritten note on June 19, thanking him and his wife,
First Lady
First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non- monarchical head of state or chief executive. The term is also used to describe a woman seen to be at the ...
Lady Bird Johnson
Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Johnson (''née'' Taylor; December 22, 1912 – July 11, 2007) was First Lady of the United States from 1963 to 1969 as the wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson. She previously served as Second Lady from 1961 to 1963 whe ...
, for the help they had given her and the Kennedy family. Following her husband's assassination, Ethel Kennedy publicly stated that she would never marry again.
For a time, she was escorted to dinners, parties, and the theater by singer and family friend
Andy Williams
Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...
.
Children
Robert and Ethel Kennedy had eleven children over 18 years of marriage:
Kathleen,
Joseph
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the m ...
,
Robert Jr.,
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
, Courtney,
Michael
Michael may refer to:
People
* Michael (given name), a given name
* Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael
Given name "Michael"
* Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...
,
Kerry,
Christopher
Christopher is the English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or '' Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Christ" or " Anointed", and φέρε� ...
,
Max,
Douglas
Douglas may refer to:
People
* Douglas (given name)
* Douglas (surname)
Animals
*Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking
* Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil ...
, and
Rory.
Rory was born after Senator Kennedy was assassinated. Kathleen served as Lieutenant Governor of Maryland from 1995 to 2003, and Joseph was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from the 8th congressional district of Massachusetts from 1987 to 1999.
Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights
Ethel Kennedy founded the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights (now known as
Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights (formerly the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, or RFK Center) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit human rights advocacy organization. It was named after United States Senator Robert F. Kenne ...
in 1968.
In February 2001, Kennedy visited Rodolfo Montiel and another peasant activist at their jail in
Iguala
Iguala (), known officially as Iguala de la Independencia, is a historic city located from the state capital of Chilpancingo, in the Mexican state of Guerrero in southwestern Mexico.
Geography
The city of Iguala stands on Federal Highway 95 ...
, presenting Rodolfo with the Chico Mendes Award on behalf of American environmental group, the
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who b ...
.
In March 2016, Kennedy was among hundreds who marched near the home of
Wendy's
Wendy's is an American international fast food restaurant chain founded by Dave Thomas (1932–2002) on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio. Its headquarters moved to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. As of December 31, 2018, Wendy's was ...
chairman
Nelson Peltz in
Palm Beach, Florida
Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida. Located on a barrier island in east-central Palm Beach County, the town is separated from several nearby cities including West Palm Beach and Lake Worth Beach by the Intrac ...
, as part of an effort by the
Coalition of Immokalee Workers
The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) is a worker-based human rights organization based in Immokalee, Florida, which focuses on the fields of social responsibility, human trafficking, and gender-based violence at work. Built on a foundation of ...
, 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.
As of September 2018, Kennedy's daughter
Kerry Kennedy
Mary Kerry Kennedy (born September 8, 1959) is an American lawyer, author and human rights activist. She is the seventh child and third daughter of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Skakel Kennedy. During her 15-year marriage to former New York Gove ...
was president of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights.
Later life
Kennedy sold
Hickory Hill for $8.25 million in December 2009.
During the
2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries
From January 3 to June 3, 2008, voters of the Democratic Party chose their nominee for president in the 2008 United States presidential election. Senator Barack Obama of Illinois was selected as the nominee, becoming the first African Ame ...
, Ethel Kennedy endorsed
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
. She publicly supported and held fundraisers at Hickory Hill for numerous politicians that included Virginia gubernatorial candidate
Brian Moran
Brian Joseph Moran (born September 9, 1959) is an American politician and a member of the Democratic Party. He served as Virginia Secretary of Public Safety from 2014 to 2022, and was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 1996 until 20 ...
. 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
Howard Brush Dean III (born November 17, 1948) is an American physician, author, lobbyist, and retired politician who served as the 79th governor of Vermont from 1991 to 2003 and chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) from 2005 to 2009 ...
.
In 2012, Kennedy appeared in a documentary about her life; the documentary was directed by her youngest child, daughter Rory. The documentary, entitled ''
Ethel
Ethel (also '' æthel'') is an Old English word meaning "noble", today often used as a feminine given name.
Etymology and historic usage
The word means ''æthel'' "noble".
It is frequently attested as the first element in Anglo-Saxon names, b ...
'', 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.
In August 2014, Kennedy nominated President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
to do the
Ice Bucket Challenge
The Ice Bucket Challenge, sometimes called the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, is an activity involving the pouring of a bucket of ice water over a person's head, either by another person or self-administered, to promote awareness of the disease amyo ...
as part of an effort to raise funds and awareness about
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most commo ...
(ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease). Obama declined to perform the fundraising stunt, but expressed appreciation to Kennedy and made a monetary donation to the cause.
As of 2019, Kennedy resides at the
Kennedy Compound
The Kennedy Compound consists of three houses on of waterfront property on Cape Cod along Nantucket Sound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, in the United States. It was once the home of Joseph P. Kennedy, an American businessman, investor, politi ...
in
Hyannis Port, Massachusetts
Hyannis Port (or Hyannisport) is a small residential village located in Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States. It is an affluent summer community on Hyannis Harbor, 1.4 miles (2.3 km) to the south-southwest of Hyannis.
Community
It has ...
.
Legacy and awards
In 1981, President
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
honored Kennedy with the Robert F. Kennedy medal in the
White House Rose Garden
The White House Rose Garden is a garden bordering the Oval Office and the West Wing of the White House in Washington, D.C., United States. The garden is approximately 125 feet long and 60 feet wide ( by , or about 684m²). It balances the Jacqu ...
.
In 2014, a bridge over the
Anacostia River
The Anacostia River is a river in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States. It flows from Prince George's County in Maryland into Washington, D.C., where it joins with the Washington Channel to empty into the Potomac River at Buzzard Poin ...
was renamed the
Ethel Kennedy Bridge in her honor, in recognition of her advocacy for environmentalism and social causes in the
District of Columbia
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle (Washington, D.C.), Logan Circle, Jefferson Memoria ...
.
Also in 2014, Kennedy was awarded the
Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merit ...
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."
See also
*
Kennedy family tree
The Kennedy family is an American political family that has long been prominent in American politics, public service, entertainment, and business. In 1884, 35 years after the family's arrival from Ireland, Patrick Joseph "P. J." Kennedy beca ...
References
Citations
Further reading
* Schlesinger, Arthur Meier Jr., ''Robert Kennedy and His Times'', Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2002,
* Taraborrelli, J. Randy. ''Jackie, Ethel, Joan: Women of Camelot''. Warner Books: 2000.
External links
*
''American Experience'': RFK People & Events—From
PBS
The Documentary Film – Ethel (2012)*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Ethel
1928 births
American socialites
Convent of the Sacred Heart (NYC) alumni
American people of Dutch descent
American people of Irish descent
Illinois Democrats
Ethel
Ethel (also '' æthel'') is an Old English word meaning "noble", today often used as a feminine given name.
Etymology and historic usage
The word means ''æthel'' "noble".
It is frequently attested as the first element in Anglo-Saxon names, b ...
Living people
Manhattanville College alumni
Massachusetts Democrats
New York (state) Democrats
People from Chicago
People from McLean, Virginia
Virginia Democrats
Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients
Robert F. Kennedy
Schools of the Sacred Heart alumni
Spouses of New York (state) politicians