Edward Kennedy died at age 77. He became a Senator for Massachusetts in 1962, elected to fill the vacancy left by John's election as president, and held the position until his death, on Aug. 25, 2009.
On May 17, 2008, Mr. Kennedy suffered a seizure and was airlifted to a Boston hospital, where doctors discovered a malignant tumor in his brain.
After undergoing an operation for brain cancer at the Duke University Medical Center in June, he managed to make a rousing speech at the Democratic convention in Denver but faded more and more from view afterwards.
In July, 2009 as a divided Senate tangled over health care legislation, there was bipartisan consensus on one point: Ted Kennedy could make a big difference, if only he were here. Mr. Kennedy, battling brain cancer, had not been on Capitol Hill since April. Colleagues routinely lamented his absence, which had been especially painful to Mr. Kennedy, the committee chairman, who had spent much of his career trying to expand health coverage. People close to Mr. Kennedy marveled at how his fight for his life could coincide so dramatically with what may be the culminating summer of his life's cause.
As his health declined, Mr. Kennedy became more of an inspirational leader than a tangible one. He turned over his day-to-day committee duties to Mr. Dodd in the spring. Mr. Dodd called him on July 14 to tell him the health committee, known as HELP, would pass the health bill - whose centerpiece is a government-run insurance plan - the next day. "I called about 8:15, and he was already asleep," Mr. Dodd said. Mr. Kennedy called back at 7 a.m. the next morning sounding thrilled.
