Sen. Edward Kennedy dies

Story Created: Aug 26, 2009 at 4:25 AM EST

Story Updated: Aug 26, 2009 at 11:13 AM EST

BOSTON (AP) - Sen. Edward Kennedy has died after a long battle with a brain tumor. He was 77.

Kennedy's family announced his death in a brief statement released early Wednesday.

Kennedy was elected to the Senate in 1962 and served longer than all but two senators, Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia and the late Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina.

Over the decades, Kennedy put his imprint on every major piece of social legislation to clear the Congress. For nearly a half-century in the Senate, Kennedy was a dominant voice on health care, civil rights, war and peace, and more. His long legislative accomplishments include the Children's Health Insurance Program, the Americans with Disabilities Act and creation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Popular among Democrats, Kennedy also earned the admiration of many Republicans and he was considered to be perhaps the most powerful liberal voice in the U.S. Senate of his time.

Kennedy was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor in May 2008 after suffering a seizure at his Massachusetts home. He underwent an aggressive and delicate surgery in early June at Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina. Doctors removed as much of the tumor as possible and he underwent a grueling regimen of radiation and chemotherapy.

Kennedy was heir to America's most potent and glamorous political family of the 20th century. He was the youngest of nine siblings that included Sen. Robert Kennedy and President John F. Kennedy.

He ran for president in 1980 and often said his main ambition was public service.

Scandal also touched his life. One of the most damaging was a 1969 car accident on a bridge in Chappaquiddick, Mass. Kennedy drove into a pond and Mary Jo Kopechne, who was in the car with him, died.

Kennedy later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of leaving the scene of an accident.

Kennedy's endorsement, along with the backing of other family members, gave Barack Obama's Democratic presidential candidacy a major boost in the midst of the 2008 primary season.
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