The Kennedys ... the most important and also most hunted family of the last century. God bless them all!

What an awesome AWESOME gallery. Also a fantastic tribute to a great and powerful man. He will be very missed.

A remarkable life, by any measure.

To the Kennedy family....my condolences to each and everyone of you. I have and always will love the Kennedy family!!! God Bless you all!

To Boston Globe....Many, many thanks for sharing these photos with us whom could never be apart of that world.

This question is out of pure ignorance of a simple incident.

in #20 if kennedy made a surprise visit, how come there are placards with his name in almost everyone's hands?

this is an extremely moving series.

RIP Mr Kennedy

let him RIP..:-/

He was a Great Man that will Always be remembered.... Thank you for sharing these pictures with us..

Rest in Peace

#7: I think the definition of "surprise" being used here, is Kennedy not being announced as a guest/speaker at the event, just like (sorry for the poor comparison) a television show having a "surprise" guest on the show - you might have staff know the person is coming and preparations made, and someone at the event or in the audience might be given stuff making it obvious the person will attend, but it wasn't officially announced beforehand.

Nossa....Imagens maravilhosas, simplesmente Genial sua galeria....Parabéns!

Brasil

I could look at pictures of the young Kennedy family all day, it seems. It's just sad to see what once was and is now no longer... time marches on.

Thanks for this gallery

R.I.P

God Bless

Thanks for sharing these amazing images.

Errrr ah

You will always be remembered. RIP Mr Kennedy.

Rohith - they handed out the placards at the last minute. No one knew he was coming.

re #7: the crowd didn't know he was coming, but event staffers surely did & handed out signs shortly beforehand

I am glad that the Globe included a pic of the car crash that killed Mary Jo Kopechne.
My they both rest in peace.

Mary Jo Kopechne, you may finally RIP.

Photo spread was awesome!

I wonder how the dogs are doing? Porties are very, very intelligent and given their bond with the Senator, I have to assume they are grieving as well!

God bless Mary Jo Kopechne.

God bless him.

A wonderful series of photographs. Ted Kennedy's maginificent life and his times.

Gran familia los Kennedy, se terminó una gran dinastía de politicos. Ahora quedan los jóvenes del famoso Clan Kennedy, liderado por Rose. Condolencias a sus deudos. Desde Uruguay, América del Sur.

Excellent selection of photos.
#19: LOL!

My sincere condolences to the family Kennedy. That God the bless them.

does anyone know whats the story behind mary Jo Kopechne incident.

Bengali refugees, not Begali.

Beautiful photography, thank you!

RIP "Teddy" Edward Moore Kennedy

Bid a fond Farewell to the Lion of the Senate and pray for the lambs he incessantly fought to protect. There are ever fewer, cut from the same cloth.

You will be missed, Senator. Those of us who have benefitted in this life from your legislative work thank you.

# 32....Google Mary Jo Kopechne

It's so hard to look at these photos without tears. Anyone who can champion for others despite their own flaws and the judgment they face for them means so much to me....they really do.

Nobody knew if Sen. Kennedy would be well enough to give a speech at the Democratic Convention in Denver. That's why they had a short film about him there. People would have waved the placards even if he wasn't there in person.

As for me, I wrote this when I heard Teddy had passed:

Words fail me but my heart knows. He was one of us, in every way, while being thoroughly himself. It was a kinship of the heart between the Senator and the American people, especially those suffering needlessly or without a voice. I am a lesbian. He fought for my rights like he fought for everyone's rights. I know peace is with him now.

Rest in Peace Ted
Say hello to Bobby and Jack

R.I.P. Mr. Kennedy. May God bless the family.

An honorable life.

#13: Sen. Kennedy, you were a friend of Bangladesh when Nixon and Kissinger was sending arms to Pakistan so Pakistan could kill 3 million people.

This did not get you any votes. No lobbyists made campaign contributions for this. No one could have blamed you if you did not walk in the mud of the refugee camps in the sweltering heat of August. But you did it because it was the right thing to do. And you helped us because that was also the right thing to do.

Thank you.

Wow, who knew that still to this day, if your last name is Kennedy, you are automatically canonized upon death.

What good did this guy do again?

His son said he believed in redemption. Redemption is making your life mean something, and to live for others. Sen. Kennedy did that over and over.

And so they tell us there is no privilege beyond merit in America. That's not really quite true, is it...

From a picture p.o.v., I like #5. Something about it is simply uncanny.

How does a a man, after devoting his entire adult life to income redistribution, end with a net worth of $70,000,000? Did he exclude his own money from his policies?

May God Rest His Soul in Peace........

My condolences for the Kennedy family.

#5...Vitality

Amazing how many people can blindly praise and honor a person who deserves neither.

Gal žmogus ir geras buvo, nežinau kokia jis įtaką turėjo lietuvai, bet manau usa jis buvo labai labai..

The good story, the human life is really short... 77 year story i saw it for only
three minutes. Life is short my friends!

Thanks Globster...

Mary Jo Kopechne, you can now RIP

Faretheewell, "Friend of Bangladesh", but Never Goodbye!

The dream lives on Ted because of you.

GREAT WORK GLOBE WE NEVER REALLY KNEW THE MAN AS WE THOUGHT DURNING HIS LIFETIME HE WAS TRULY A GREAT HUMANITARIAN

Geoff,

Why don't you ask each of the 2,976 families of the 9/11 attacks whom Ted Kennedy not only called to offer his condolences, but followed up with on many occasions since then? Why don't you ask the families of every soldier killed in Iraq whose funerals Ted Kennedy attended? Why don't you ask his constituents in Massachusetts whom Ted Kennedy represented, advocated for, and provided timely assistance to in his 47 years in the senate? Why don't ask the countless people with disabilities, homelessness, veterans, elderly, and disadvantaged whom he has provided assistance and legislated for for 47 years? Why don't you ask his nieces, nephews, sisters, children, and grandchildren, who played an important role in their lives with selflessness when both his brothers had been tragically gunned down?

Then, why don't you ask what you have done for your fellow citizens, your family, and your country before you pass judgment on this humble and honorable servant of our country.

Rest in peace Teddy

To all who would say something disparaging about this man. One fact that cannot be disputed is that he has done more for fellow men and women of Massachusetts, the United States, and the World than most of us have or will do in our lifetimes.

Regardless of your political belief's, this fact alone should command humble appreciation of a life dedicated to public service and most of all respect.

God Bless Edward "Ted" Kennedy, his family and loved ones.

Thanks for this wonder assemblage of Senator Kennedy's life and death.
In the end, may he rest in peace and know the comfort of the the forgiving Lord. The senator more than recognized and acknowledged his past faults in his poignant letter to Pope Benedict XVI. Only God knows where he lies now.

RIP Senator Kennedy.

Geoff,

You are truly a moron. How sad that you have somehow failed to glean any knowledge or substance from this past week's history lesson on Senator Kennedy's richly-lived life. He was, as we all know, not a saint in many instances throughout his life. For me as a 50 year-old Catholic man, this has been cause for much conflict in the past week. When I heard his letter to the Pope though, I was reminded of one of the seeds of my faith and that is FORGIVENESS.

As I said in my previous post, senator Kennedy's fate lies at the judgement seat in heaven. He was just as imperfect as you likely are now.

Perhaps you might want to give it more thought in the future before depressing the "submit" button? Just a suggestion...

His worked mattered to every American, whether they know it or acknowledge it. Laid off from you job and have COBRA, thank Ted. Need to take time off of work to take care of your critcally ill mother, father, spouse and not have to worry about losing your job? Thank Ted. This man could have left politics after Jack or Bobby was killed. He didn't. Here is a man who stayed in politics not to feed his ego, but to keep of voice for those who couldn't speak. We were lucky to live during his life time.

Lars,

Many of us would like to ask Mary Jo, but she is unavailable for comment. He wasn't a saint. He was a politician and a somewhat slimy one at that (as many of them tend to be). LOL, he didn't call each and every family of those who died in the 9/11 attacks & you'd have to ask each and every MA family that he did contact as to how much it meant to them. On the whole, the policies that he championed are not of a sort that merit unequivocal adulation. He was very partisan and unequal in the causes he championed. There is a whitewash here that will fade in due time.

Posted by Lars Knakkergaard September 1, 09 11:50 AM

Lars, I'm afraid that people like Geoff despise people like Ted Kennedy precisely because of the good they do for others. Hence their long-time term "bleeding heart", something these people actually see as a pejorative. And those who keep referring to Mary Jo Kopechne could care less about Ms. Kopechne. I'd bet that if you challenged any of them to, off the tops of their heads, tell you anything about her, they'd fail miserably. Ms. Kopechne is useful to them in demonizing someone whom they despise, and, frankly, these people insult her memory by doing so. But Ted basically had these people unhinged over him throughout his entire career. Which says, frankly, a great deal that's positive about the Senator.

Photo #3 - they all look so happy then - simpler times?

Great pictures. He was a great and gentle man.

Ted Kennedy and his brothers did allot for this Country. The Kennedy's worked very hard in life to be where they are at. The Kennedy's, will always be remebered in life to come. THE IRISH FAMILY
R.I.P

RIP Mary Jo

These photos are beautiful & very well said Lars.
The best we can all do, is learn from Ted's example and stand up for what is right and be good to each other. I think his passing has brought out the best in many of us. Maybe we know we'll need to do more work to get things done because he's gone. In Massachusetts we were spoiled to have him as our Senator for so long, I always felt proud to hear him speak on our (the people) behalf. There are so many stories people have of how he touched their lives or helped them in some significant way....he went well above the call of duty because he cared.

Even during a time as sad as this past week these right wing whackos like geoff and WhomperStomper feel a need to spew their venom. If they only did in a lifetime what EMK did in one day .

EMK you will be sadly missed. America has lost their concience with your passing.

"The Dream Lives On"

I have a hard time with people who would forget about every good thing Teddy Kennedy did for his constituents and the people of this country, because of a mistake he made 40 years ago. Yes, it was horrible and it resulted in an innocent woman's death, but have you never made a mistake in your life? Have you accomplished as much good in your life as Teddy Kennedy? How long would you ask him to pay for an accident?
Yes, he was wealthy, and he was privileged, but I wish all wealthy and privileged people would give as much of their lives to public service and helping those less fortunate. The world would be a better place. RIP both Mary Jo and Teddy.

The good that we do doesn't erase the bad and the bad we do doesn't erase the good. It is simply the human condition that greatness can live within us side by side with weakness. To acknowledge Ted's greatness doesn't negate or ignore the value of MJK's life and the sadness of her early death.

I think that his own need for forgiveness and compassion deepened his understanding of the need we all have for them. I, for one, am grateful for Ted Kennedy's life among us and am sad that he's gone.

Bright blessings on Ted Kennedy and his family.

Mary Jo Kopechne's parents voted for Ted Kennedy in the Pennsylvania presidential primary in 1980; this is a matter of public record.

How many lives did Teddy save by insisting that the flimsy armor on the army humvees in Iraq be replaced with something stronger, which it has?

HE DID SO MUCH FOR MAN KINF HE KNEW GOD BLESS HIM .,

Ask the Europeans how they feel about the centre of the Kennedy legacy. They will trumpet on and on over the bright colours that he brought to many a naysayer in Europe. I can tell you this now...If Ted Kennedy were president at any time, the overall feeling amongst Europeans would be 180 degrees different. He was a great man, a great leader, and a great diplomat. Remember, America is the most powerful nation on the planet. No European would deny that. It's time for you all to start considering how the choices you make in elections effects you and the other 90% of the planets population. RIP, Mr. Kennedy. Europe lost a great friend and diplomat.

With all the pomp and circumstance for the great of our earth we need to be gently reminded of the words of the poet James Shirley. He said it well.

DEATH THE LEVELLER

The glories of our blood and state
Are shadows, not substantial things;
There is no armour against Fate;
Death lays his icy hand on kings:
Sceptre and Crown
Must tumble down,
And in the dust be equal made
With the poor crookèd scythe and spade.

Some men with swords may reap the field,
And plant fresh laurels where they kill:
But their strong nerves at last must yield;
They tame but one another still:
Early or late
They stoop to fate,
And must give up their murmuring breath
When they, pale captives, creep to death.

The garlands wither on your brow,
Then boast no more your mighty deeds!
Upon Death's purple altar now
See where the victor-victim bleeds.
Your heads must come
To the cold tomb:
Only the actions of the just
Smell sweet and blossom in their dust.

James Shirley

All the Kennedys were great. They truly sought to make the world more fair and just and they were often courageous in that effort - that is why people connected with them. I knew Ted Kennedy the best. After I gave the student commencement speech at the Umass/Boston 1981 commenment exercise, guest speaker Ted Kennedy hire me to serve as his statewide college coordinator for his 1982 senate re-election campaign. I worked up close with him, eat with him, watched him deliberate on issues and party on the cape. He is the real deal - he was direct and you always knew where he stood. Ted Kennedy made this world a better place. He was a man of vast goodness, kindness and energy.

Spellcheck: The village that is home to the Kennedy Compound is called "Hyannis Port", not, "Hyannisport"!

You will be sorely missed. God bless the Kennedys
I pray that there is another to take up the cause.

Thank you for sharing these amazing and now poignant images. As he said himself he was not a perfect man, but he spent his entire life serving those who had no voice - one cannot do more than that.

Rest in peace, Senator, the world is a poorer place without you.

John,

I stand corrected on the # of 9/11 families Ted Kennedy called. It was 177, the families of Massachusetts victims. You bring up MJK, but without googling her name, do you even know anything about her? You don't really seem to have any compassion for her, but rather use it as a flimsy defense of your argument.

Again, I ask you to ask yourself what good you have done for your fellow citizens, your family, and your country before you pass judgment.

This is from the Boston.com website:

“The world just seems a darker place today, and quieter,’’ said Cindy McGinty, whose husband, Mike, died in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. “Even though you didn’t see him every day, you felt him.’’

Kennedy’s empathy was the following days, he called all 177 Massachusetts family who lost a member and offered his help. McGinty soon learned the senator really meant it, when she lamented the tangle of red tape she faced in the aftermath, and he took immediate action, creating an advocate program to help victims’ families.

Kennedy never spoke publicly about the help he gave them. Instead, “he downplayed it,’’ McGinty said.

Every year, he contacted her on the anniversary of the tragedy, and sometimes more often, to check on her and her children, she said.

“He taught me how to put one foot in front of the other,’’ said McGinty, “and do for other people . . . I really think that he’s my hero.’’

Magi Bish said Kennedy “had a way of coming to me when I needed him,’’ calling her when her daughter Molly disappeared; calling to share the good news when child safety legislation was progressing; calling her again when her husband lay shattered by a stroke.

“I’m just a first-grade teacher from a small town, we’re working people, but he knew our trauma and our sadness, and he always remembered who we were,’’ Bish said yesterday, her voice shaking. “Today he can be in peace, great peace and happiness, and I just hope my Molly has the opportunity to give him one of those great big Molly hugs, and thank him for everything he did for us.’’

Fred Fay, a disability rights activist from Concord who broke his neck and was paralyzed in 1961, said he felt a close connection to Kennedy, who suffered serious injuries of his own as the result of a 1964 plane crash. A leading supporter of the Americans With Disabilities Act, Kennedy consulted Fay on the legislation and visited him at his home, where the two men shared coffee, muffins, and strategies for coping with physical limitations.

“He came back from so much that would have made other people give up on themselves,’’ Fay said. “He set a pattern over many years of being a real survivor . . . He was a very compassionate man.’’

His compassion rarely ended with a single gesture.

When a terrified father called Kennedy’s office in 1987 and said his son could not get access to the latest cancer drug, the senator’s staff intervened on his behalf. When the drug could not save the young man and he was sent home to die, his father called Kennedy again, distraught over the uncomfortable, hand-cranked bed the Veterans Affairs medical center had provided. The next day, an electric bed arrived.

Kennedy befriended Brian and Alma Hart of Bedford in November 2003, after their son John was killed in Iraq. Told it would be a six-week wait to bury him at Arlington National Cemetery, they appealed to Kennedy, who helped cut the wait in half. The senator attended the funeral of the 20-year-old soldier, and listened as a stricken Brian Hart voiced his terrible suspicion that better equipment could have saved his son’s life.

Then Kennedy went to war in Congress, fighting for and winning huge advances in funding for protective body armor and armored vehicles.

“It gives some meaning to our son’s death,’’ Brian Hart said.

My condolences to the Kennedy family as they grieve the loss of their beloved Teddy Kennedy. May his soul rest in peace.

God bless Ted Kennedy and his family. A fine Irishman, a proud American and a giant of the Senate.

God bless him.

en mexico tambien sentimos una gran perdida por el senador kennedy muy cercano a nuestro pueblo un hombre de estatura mundial rip

What powerful images!! To highlight images of someone's life in such a moving way, beautiful. I love the one of him laughing- #22 and #36 shows what an impact he had in his lifetime.

Beautiful and moving images, thank you Big Picture

Heather
http://www.heatherbarrphoto.com

For all those whom Senator Edward Kennedy helped and championed, may he know their gratitude, and may the Lord hold him tenderly in the palm of His hand as he is welcomed into Heaven and amongst his many loved ones.
P.S. Thank you to Lars for not only being a voice of decency, but also for standing up to a disrespectful attitude with a load of enlightening facts. I also learned more about the senator from your information, and it has deepened my respect for him. Thank you.

My memories were of watching him lie through his teeth on CSPAN. That and that he left a young woman to die without calling for help. She didn't drown, she asphyxiated - she was breathing in the bubble of air left in the car. Waiting for rescue that could have come if Teddy had more in mind than his own hide.

He was a coward and a liar.

One poster talks about forgiveness - forgiveness must be accompanied by true repentance - when did he ever display that?

He saved his expression of remorse for a posthumous book. More cowardice.

Why do we Americans still seem to yearn for the yoke of royalty? And such unworthy royalty, too. The Kennedy clan was mobbed up since at least Prohibition, when it made it's fortune running illegal rum. Jack was doing LSD in the Oval Office and boinking Marilynne Monroe, not to mention in bed with the Mob from The Bay of Pigs to Chicago (which bought him his election).

The whole lot was bad seed, yet most of the posters here want to bow down to them.

My goodness. Look at all of the folks that think this guy was some kind of hero. This guy was a slimebag that was able to keep his senate seat and not go to jail ONLY because of his name and his money. Nearly everyone else would have ended up in jail for a long time.

We are all members of the human race and as such are of one family - mankind! Judge not in haste, for the human frailties of us all are known by ourselves before any who dare to judge. Our frailties are our testimony to our human-ness. We must all remember to take the plank out of your own eyes before we judge!

LIfe should not be measured by the number of breaths we take, nor by our human frailties, but rather by the acts of kindness we shared and the number of moments we experienced that took our breath away!

If in our life if we choose to be passionate about something, we must work to ensure we are passionate about life itself - if we choose to fight we must choose to fight for those who have no voice, if we choose to lose something it must be our inhibitions, so that we can gain self respect.

He was human with human frailties as we all have, but his passion , his faith, his fight for those less able than himself were ever present. The world is a lesser place for his passing and those he touched are all the richer for his being.

Rest in peace Ted!

Oh c'mon 91, don't make me puke. A bunch of flowery language doesn't change the fact the guy let Mary Jo die without even attempting to save her, that he was a drunk, a womanizer, and a man that pushed more bad legislation than any three senators combined.

I would love to see the halo's around the heads of all the folks who just love to run a person like Ted Kennedy down!Those are the kind of people that I would hate to have to turn to in any kind of trouble!The kind that would just brush you aside and say it isn't their problem!The Kennedy's Made it their problem and delt with it,no matter the cost! The Kennedy's cost was very steep,three sons!!! Bless all of the Kennedy family!There are plenty of us out here that recognise what they have don for all of us!

God Bless

DEAR TEDDY, THANK YOU
VOUS RESTEREZ DANS NOS MEMOIRES COMME UN ETRE HUMAIN EXCEPTIONNEL, DROLE SENSIBLE ET COURAGEUX
LA FRANCE VOUS AIME
NOS PENSEES AFFECTUEUSES VONT A VICKY, A TED Jr MERCI POUR SON MAGNIFIQUE DISCOURS, A PATRICK, A KARA, A CAROLINE MERCI POUR SON TENDRE DISCOURS, A SES PETITS-ENFANTS, A SA SOEUR JEAN ET A TOUS LES COUSINS KENNEDY
MARIE

Marie Jo Kopechne loved the Kennedys and no one should be allowed to speak or to write in her place ! Ted Kennedy has spent his entire life to work for his country, probably in part to ask her, us and himself to forgive what happened then. Clever people should have moved on since 1969 !
He was a wonderful human being and we will always love him and the Kennedy family. Thank you to all people in his office to have helped Teddy.
And we should ask ourselves what WE did for our country, compared to what the Kennedy family and TEDDY did ! People in France love him as America.

Thank you for your photos of rememberence. The Kennedys were a important part of my generation Like all men,we all make wrong choices and some tragic, but we are but men. I thank God that we are forgiven, and because of that we must forgive. The Kennedy boys were the furture and hope of this great nation. They gave hope to the poor and the disadvantaged. We can not all agree on evey issue, but I know there were multitudes of people like myself that loved the Kennedy's.May God bless and protect the grieving family and loved ones. May God bless America! May America bless God!!!

This man will be remembered by my generation (50s & 60s) for Chappaquidick and the death of Mary Jo Kopechne. He was a disgrace to our nation and the good name of the US Senate.

Once in my life, I did watch the TV program with such ardor and passion.
It is my tribute to a Great Man who love this country till the end of his life. I
hope his son Ted Kennedy Jr. will follow the footstep of his DAD, and conti-
nue his dream.

Geoff, since you're so bitter about Sen. Ted Kennedy, I suggest you start reading. I'm on my third Kennedy book since his passing - two bios and now his autobio (True Compass). As Larry King said, it's [awesome]. They're all politically interesting alone, intensely so.

Many great men were womanizers (Gandhi, Jefferson and dozens of famous others). They were also extremely high achievers.

People see in others what they see in themselves. Get over it.

RIP Mr.Kennedy,I Will Always Miss You.You Did So Much For This Country and Its People.He Stood Up For The Underdog.I Will Miss Seening Him On C-SPAN And Miss His Laugh and Smile.

ted kennedy was and still is a great person iwish his wife the best of luck to get through all the hard times and yes these were fantastic picture and we will always remember ted in our hearts

It's remarkable the resemblance between the young Edward Kennedy as a boy in the first picture and the boy in the 27th picture, third from the left, presumably a grandchild or great grand-child. Amazing :)