Kennedy Profile

Black and white photograph, profile view of a man's head 

Edward “Ted” Kennedy was the youngest of the Kennedy children, and was born February 22nd, 1932. He is the brother of John F. and Robert Kennedy. Ted Kennedy served as a U.S. Senator for Massachusetts for nine terms (1962 – 2009), and throughout his time in the Senate was an ardent supporter of improving social services, legal services, and health care access. He sponsored and backed multiple bills to raise the minimum wage and promoted job-readiness programs. He also expanded the Head Start Program so that more children of low-income families could access child care. The College Cost Reduction and Access Act (2007)—sponsored by Kennedy and others—helped students have more access to loan forgiveness. In his last year in office, he helped pass the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (2009) so workers could fight against pay discrimination. He died on August 25th, 2009.