Kennedy Family

Kennedy

Kennedy family in September 1963
Ethnicity	Irish American
Place of origin	New Ross, County Wexford (Irish forebears) Boston, Massachusetts (American political dynasty)
Distinctions	Prominence in politics Family tragedies
Estate	Kennedy Compound, Hyannis Port, Massachusetts

The Kennedy family is an American family that has been prominent in American politics, public service, and business during the 20th century. At least one Kennedy family member held federal elective office in every year between 1947 and 2011, and then from 2013 onwards, a span of time comprising more than a quarter of the nation's existence. Three of the four sons of Joseph, Sr. and Rose Kennedy served as Senator, and later ran for the presidency.

The first Kennedys to reside in the United States were Patrick Kennedy and Bridget Murphy, who sailed from Ireland to East Boston in 1849. Their son P. J. went into Massachusetts politics and business; his wife's brother, Charles M. Hickey, served as mayor of Brockton, Massachusetts in 1913.

P.J. and his wife Mary Hickey were the parents of businessman and politician Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. Joseph Sr. was the first Kennedy to achieve national prominence, and amassed a fortune in banking and securities trading, which he further expanded by investing heavily in other growing industries. Under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Joseph Sr. was appointed the first chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, directed the Maritime Commission, and served a controversial term as Ambassador to the United Kingdom in the lead-up to World War II.

Joseph Sr.'s wife was Rose Fitzgerald, whose father, John F. Fitzgerald, served as a state senator (1892-94), member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1895-1901, 1919), and mayor of Boston (1906-08, 1910-14).