When it comes to American political dynasties, the first family name that probably comes
to mind is the Kennedys.
The Kennedy family is one of the most famous families in the world.
They have been in the spotlight for decades and have had their fair share of controversies.
The Kennedy family curse is a superstition that has been around for decades.
It states that members of the Kennedy family are doomed to die young because they are cursed
by either a family member or an outside force.
From plane crashes to overdoses, illnesses, and assassinations, The Kennedy family has
been struck by many devastating tragedies in the last century.
After getting injured in a car accident in 1969, Ted Kennedy began to wonder if some
kind of terrible curse was hanging over his family's name.
After all, by that time, he had already lost four siblings to untimely deaths.
If you take a look at all of the facts, you'll find that the Kennedys have suffered from
more tragic illnesses, horrible accidents, and questionable deaths than just about any
other political family.
These tragedies coupled with their glamour, power, and ambition have captured the minds
and imaginations of people from around the globe for decades now.
Join Facts Verse as we take a closer look at the so-called Kennedy Family Curse while
revealing the details of every family member who has died in some kind of tragic way.
Rosemary Kennedy's Lobotomy
Rosemary Kennedy was the youngest daughter of Joseph and Rose Kennedy.
She was born in 1918 and died in 2005.
Rosemary had a mental disability that made her slow to learn, but she was still able
to read and write.
It's theorized that she suffered from a lack of oxygen at birth.
As Rosemary grew up, it became clear that she was failing to reach the same developmental
milestones as other kids her age.
Her parents were worried about her future, so they sent her to a special school for children
with disabilities.
As a young adult, Rosemary became increasingly irritable, unstable, and prone to violent
mood swings.
While Rosemary's mental deficiencies were easier to hide when she was a child, as an
adult they became very difficult to cover up.
In response to these issues, Rosemary's dad arranged for her to have a prefrontal lobotomy
in 1941 when she was 23.
The procedure was kept a secret until after it had been completed, but sadly it was botched
and left young Rosemary permanently incapacitated.
The lobotomy left Rosemary unable to speak or walk without assistance for the rest of
her life.
Joe Kennedy Jr.
Was Killed In Action
As the eldest Kennedy son, Joe Jr. was always a bit of an overachiever.
His father, Joseph Kennedy Sr, had aspirations of him one day becoming the United States
President.
If this were to have happened, Joe Jr. would have been the first Catholic US President,
but that honor would instead go to his brother John.
Joe Jr. had already started a life in politics when America was dragged into the Second World
War.
Being the patriot that he was, Joe Jr. enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve in June
of 1941.
He trained as a naval aviator before he was deployed to Britain.
After successfully completing more than two dozen combat missions, Joe Jr volunteered
for a top-secret mission called Operation Anvil and Operation Aphrodite
The details of his death were kept sealed until after the war was over, but we eventually
learned that Joe Jr died on August 12, 1944, while serving as a land-based patrol pilot.
He was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross.
Following his death, Joseph Sr. transferred his aspirations of raising a future president
to his next-oldest son, John F. Kennedy.
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Kathleen 'Kick' Kennedy Was Killed In A Plane Crash
Just calling Kathleen's life eventful would be a HUGE understatement.
She was the sister of JFK and arguably the Kennedy family member with the most adorable
nickname.
Kick experienced and accomplished quite a bit in her relatively short life.
She was a debutante, Red Cross volunteer, and research assistant for the Times-Herald
newspaper.
Beyond that, she married the Marquess of Hartington, William 'Billy' Cavendish, in May of 1944,
making her Lady Hartington.
Sadly, she was also hit with one terrible tragedy after another.
In September 1944, Kick's husband died in combat, just months after their marriage.
At the age of just 24, she was already a widow.
Only four years later on May 13, 1948, Kick, along with three others, died in a small plane
crash in France.
She was 28 when she was killed just three years after her brother Joe Jr.
Patrick Kennedy's Death Was A Devastating Blow
On August 7, 1963, Jacqueline Kennedy gave birth to a little boy named Patrick.
Mournfully, since the child was born premature, he only lived for 39 hours before dying of
complications of hyaline membrane disease.
Numerous attempts were made to save his life, but nothing worked.
The couple had previously suffered one stillbirth and a miscarriage, so this death was all the
more so heartbreaking.
Patrick's death shined a light on infantile respiratory diseases and raised the public
profile of such afflictions, leading to more research being directed to the topic.
Clearly, Jackie O and John had to deal with more than their fair share of adversity, but
as we all know, it wouldn't end with little baby Patrick's premature death.
The JFK Assassination
The assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963 was by far one of the most significant
moments in United States history.
Even a seasoned newscaster like Walter Cronkite, who had already reported on countless catastrophes,
teared up when he delivered the horrific news to the nation.
On the 22nd of November, 1963, President Kennedy was shot while he was being driven through
Dallas, Texas.
At the time, he was campaigning for reelection, but he would never get a chance to serve a
second term because he was pronounced dead shortly after shots had been fired.
The alleged assailant, Lee Harvey Oswald, was likewise shot to death by nightclub owner
Jack Ruby shortly after his arrest.
Although countless conspiracy theories about the event have flooded the public consciousness,
one thing is for certain.
Oswald, whether he acted alone or was some kind of patsy, deeply hated everything that
America represented.
He had a deep hatred for capitalism and had communist ties.
So, when he had the opportunity to strike against the American political figurehead,
he took it.
Even though the assassination presented numerous political challenges, the tragedy that Jacqueline
and the Kennedy family had to deal with was still devastating beyond measure.
RFK's Assassination Must Have Felt Like Deja Vu
Robert F. Kennedy, just like his brother John, was a prominent member of the Democratic Party.
He served as the United States Attorney General between 1961 and 1964 before holding the senator's
office for New York.
Following in his brother's footsteps, in 1968, Robert was one of the leading Democratic presidential
candidates.
Shortly after he won the California primary on June 5, 1968, Robert was shot and killed
by Sirhan Sirhan, a young Palestinian man who claimed that he acted in retaliation for
Robert's pro-Israeli stance during the Six-Day War in 1967.
RFK's assassination prompted a change in the way that the Secret Service did its duties.
After his death, the Secret Service expanded its breadth by also protecting presidential
candidates
The Chappaquiddick Incident
On the evening of July 1969, Senator Ted Kennedy left a party held on Chappaquiddick Island
to take fellow party guest Mary Jo Kopechne back to the ferry station.
While en route to the ferry landing, Ted's car skidded off a bridge into the water.
Ted managed to escape the sinking vehicle and swim to safety, but he fled the scene
and didn't report the accident to the authorities until 10am the following morning.
At that point, Kopechne's dead body had already been recovered from the submerged vehicle.
Ted ended up being found guilty for fleeing the scene of the accident and was sentenced
to a two-month suspended jail sentence.
He also had his driver's license suspended for 16 months.
This incident severely tarnished Ted Kennedy's reputation and soured his political aspirations.
At one point, he had dreams of becoming President, but when he finally ran in the 1980 Democratic
presidential primaries, he lost in a landslide to future president Jimmy Carter.
David Kennedy's Overdose Death
RFK's fourth son, David, almost drowned to death when he was a boy, but his dad jumped
in the water and saved him.
The day after this near-death experience.
David witnessed his father's assassination on live TV.
To cope with the trauma of losing his father in such a horrific way, David turned to recreational
drugs.
And after being injured in a car accident in 1973, he was left addicted to opioids.
Although he tried on numerous occasions to get clean in rehab following several non-fatal
overdoses, David was never able to kick his habit.
In April 1984, he was found dead after overdosing on a combination of prescription medications
and cocaine.
Michael Kennedy's Skiing Accident
Another one of RFK's kids, Michael, died in a skiing accident in Aspen, Colorado on New
Year's Eve in 1997.
He was evidently tossing a football while on skis with several other family members
when he struck a tree.
He wasn't wearing any safety equipment or helmet, and prior to the accident, the family
had apparently been warned by the ski patrol to cease what they were doing.
Following the accident, Michael was rushed to Aspen Valley Hospital, where he was pronounced
dead a little over an hour later.
JFK Jr Died In A Plane Crash
JFK Jr. was born just two weeks after his dad was elected President, which would have
made him only two years old when John was assassinated.
In 1999, while he was working as an attorney in New York City, JFK Jr flew from Jersey
to Massachusetts via Martha's Vineyard to attend a wedding.
In the plane with him was his wife, Carolyn, and his sister-in-law.
After the plane didn't make it to it's destination on schedule and stopped responding to communications,
it was reported missing.
At first, investigators had hoped that the Kennedys would be found alive, but the wreckage
and debris of the aircraft, along with the three passengers' bodies, were discovered
days later.
It's believed that Kennedy became disorientated while descending over the water at night with
limited visibility.
It's astonishing that so many terrible things could happen to one family.
While it's always a good idea to remain skeptical of sensational claims, it's hard to deny that
the Kennedys have been subjected to far more tragedies than the average American family.
What do you think?
Are the Kennedys really cursed as many people seem to think, or do you think that they're
simply the victims of some very lousy luck?
Let us know in the comments.
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