Edward Moore 'Ted' Kennedy (1932-2009) was a prominent American politician, lawyer, and long-serving Democratic U.S. Senator from Massachusetts (1962-2009), known as the 'Lion of the Senate' and a leading liberal voice in the Democratic Party, particularly on civil rights and labor issues. Born into the influential Kennedy family as the youngest of nine children to Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, he was the brother of President John F. Kennedy and Senator Robert F. Kennedy. After serving in the U.S. Army (1951-1953), he earned a B.A. in government from Harvard University (1956), studied at the International Law School in The Hague (1958), and received his LL.B. from the University of Virginia (1959). He began his political career as an assistant district attorney in Suffolk County before winning a special election in 1962 to fill the Senate seat vacated by his brother John, becoming one of the longest-serving senators in U.S. history. Kennedy authored or co-sponsored landmark legislation on healthcare reform, civil rights, immigration, education, labor rights, and disability rights, including a sustained push for universal health coverage. He collaborated across party lines, notably with Republican Orrin Hatch on health initiatives, while opposing the Vietnam War. His personal life included marriage to Joan Bennett Kennedy (1958-1982, with three children: Kara, Edward Jr., and Patrick) and later to Victoria Reggie (1992, gaining two stepchildren). He faced controversies such as the 1969 Chappaquiddick incident, which resulted in the death of Mary Jo Kopechne and a guilty plea to leaving the scene, and an unsuccessful bid for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1980. Diagnosed with brain cancer in 2008, he continued working until his death on August 25, 2009, leaving a legacy as a master legislator and champion of progressive causes.