United States Senator, Presidential Cabinet Secretary. He was the third son of Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and the brother of both President John F. Kennedy and Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy. Known as "Bobby," he served in the United States Naval Reserve during World War II as a Seaman Apprentice on the USS Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. from 1944 to 1946. He started his career as an attorney in the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice in 1951. While there, he served in several legal capacities, culminating as the Chief Counsel of the Senate Select Committee on Improper Activities in the Labor or Management Field from 1957 to 1960. It was here that he made a national name for himself as he waged war on racketeering in the labor movement and had several public confrontations with Teamsters Leader Jimmy Hoffa. He left that position to serve as Campaign Manager for the Presidential election of his brother in 1960. Upon John F. Kennedy's election, and after much personal and family debating, Bobby, only 36, accepted the position of Attorney General in his brother's administration, making him the youngest person ever to hold that office. He stayed on as Attorney General after the assassination of John F. Kennedy until September 3rd, 1964, when he finally resigned. Later that year, he moved his family to New York. He ran a successful campaign and was elected as a Democratic Senator from New York to the United States Senate, taking office in early 1965. In 1968, he was late in entering the presidential campaign. However, he was gaining momentum, and on June 4, 1968, he won the California Primary and seemed poised to win the Democratic Presidential nomination. While at a victory party on the evening of June 5th at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California, he was shot by assassin Sirhan Sirhan and later died at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles. He was married and the father of 11 children.
Bio by: John Sheets