Toronto (ECN) - Edward Moore Kennedy, or more popularly known as Ted Kennedy, died minutes before midnight on Tuesday, August 25, 2009 at his home in Hyannis Port, Masachusetts after a lengthy battle with brain cancer. He was 77 years old. Originally diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor in May of 2008 Ted Kennedy underwent a successful brain surgery. Unfortunately, his condition continued to deteriorate. While attending the lunceheon following President Obama's inauguration, he had a seizure and eventually lost his heroic battle with this terrible disease.
Ted Kennedy, was born in Boston on February 22, 1932 but was raised in Massachusetts, New York, Florida, and England. Graduating from Harvard in 1956 and then from the University of Virginia Law School three years later, he worked as an assistant district attorney in Suffolk County, Massachusetts. In 1962, Ted Kennedy entered the Senate during a special election to fill the void left by his brother, John Kennedy. In 1964, Senator Kennedy was elected to a full six year term as the Senator for Massachusetts.
It is his long history and success as a Senator that he will be remembered for by many people. Ted Kennedy, who had been dubbed "The Lion of the Senate" wrote more than three hundred bills that have been enacted into law including the National Cancer Act of 1971, the COBRA Act of 1985, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002. During his reign on the Senate, Kennedy was known for his passion for the enactment of universal health care and with the election of President Barack Obama, he felt his lifelong career goal was one step closer to being realized.
President Obama, who is currently on a week long holiday has issued statements of condolences to the Kennedy family along with expressing his own personal heartbreak at the news of the death of a political icon. Family, friends, and fellow politicians have expressed how much this influential member of the Democratic Party will be missed.
Currently, there have not been any funeral plans made or released to the public.
