Ethel Kennedy was born in Chicago in 1928 and married Robert Kennedy in 1950. They had 11 children and were involved in politics, campaigning for John F. Kennedy and Robert’s own presidential campaign. After Robert’s assassination, Ethel focused on public service, particularly the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Project.
Ethel Kennedy was born Ethel Skakel in Chicago, Illinois on April 11, 1928. She was the sixth child of a Protestant father and a Catholic mother named George and Anne Skakel. She would eventually come to be known as the wife of Senator Robert Kennedy, a loving mother and dedicated civil servant.
His father, George, began his career working as a railroad clerk. With the help of some of his friends and colleagues, he developed a private coke and coal company which greatly increased his wealth. When Ethel Kennedy was five years old, her father and mother moved her and her six siblings into a large house in Greenwich, Connecticut, where she attended Greenwich Academy and the Covenant of the Sacred Heart.
During the fall of 1945, Ethel enrolled at Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart. She quickly befriended a fellow student named Jean Kennedy. Eventually, she Ethel was introduced to Jean’s brother Robert, who dated Ethel’s sister Patricia for a short time.
When Robert Kennedy and Patricia Skakel split, Ethel and Robert began dating. In February 1950 the two became engaged and married in June of the same year. After their marriage, Robert and Ethel Kennedy moved to Charlottesville, Virginia so that Robert could complete his law degree. There Ethel gave birth to her first child, Kathleen. She would go on to have ten more children with Robert.
After finishing his law degree, Robert and Ethel moved their growing family to Washington, DC, where he worked in a variety of government roles. During this time, Ethel was busy at home with the children, but she found time to entertain a number of political and tradesmen guests who came to visit the family’s 13-bedroom mansion. The parties that took place under Ethel’s supervision were considered extraordinary.
Two years after her parents’ untimely death in a plane crash, Ethel Kennedy’s husband decided to apply for a position with the Senate Select Committee, and Ethel delved into the world of politics. Audiences loved her sense of humor and her personality. You also played an integral role in the presidential campaign of your brother-in-law, John F. Kennedy.
Ethel Kennedy and her children supported and campaigned for Robert, who ended up winning the title of US Senator. She also stood by her side as she campaigned for the presidency of the United States. When Robert was shot three times and killed during his 1968 presidential campaign, Ethel was three months pregnant with their eleventh child.
During the 1970s, Ethel spent much of her time doing public service. She spent much of her time helping the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Project, which had been started by her husband. Personal struggles during the 1980s and 1990s kept her from pursuing other areas of public service.
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