Ethel Kennedy: Human Rights Advocate and Widow of Robert F. Kennedy Dies

Ethel Kennedy was an American human rights advocate and the widow of Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and the matriarch of one of the nation's most famous political families. Born Ethel Skakel on April 11, 1928, in Chicago, she married Robert Kennedy in 1950 and raised eleven children.

After her husband was assassinated in 1968, Kennedy founded the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, now known as Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, and spent decades supporting its work. In 2014 President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and a bridge over the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C., was renamed the Ethel Kennedy Bridge.

Kennedy was pregnant with her eleventh child, Rory, when her husband was shot, and Rory was born six months later. Her son Robert F. Kennedy Jr. later became a presidential candidate and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. She died on October 10, 2024, in Boston at age 96, following a stroke. Remembered for her energy and devotion, she carried her family's legacy of public service for more than half a century.

Achievements: Founded the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights (1968), raised eleven children, awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2014), honored with the Ethel Kennedy Bridge in Washington, D.C. (2014).

Birth: April 11, 1928 - Chicago, Illinois.

Profession: Human rights advocate and philanthropist.

Interesting Facts: During her husband's 1964 Senate campaign, she suggested a slogan to answer charges of carpetbagging: "There is only so much you can do for Massachusetts." Two of her sons, David and Michael, died before her.