Max Kennedy
Encyclopedia
Matthew Maxwell Taylor Kennedy (born January 11, 1965) – also known as Max Kennedy – is an American author and the ninth child of Robert F. Kennedy
and Ethel Skakel Kennedy
, and a member of the Kennedy family
.
's St. Patrick's Cathedral
, in front of a crowd of 200 people. He is named after General Maxwell Taylor, then serving as the American Ambassador to Vietnam
, who did not attend the baptism.
Graduating with honors from Harvard University
where he majored in American history, Max was a member of the Spee Club of Harvard University, a Final Club. He married Victoria Anne Strauss, the granddaughter of Maurice "Moe" Strauss
(born February 10, 1964) on July 13, 1991 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
.
Both he and his wife graduated in 1992 from the University of Virginia School of Law
, where he was elected President of the Student Legal Forum. Both his father
and his uncle, Senator Ted Kennedy
had served as presidents of the Student Legal Forum during their respective times at the University of Virginia School of Law
.
He is also the author of Danger's Hour: The Story of the USS Bunker Hill and the Kamikaze Pilot Who Crippled Her, which was released by Simon & Schuster
on Veteran's Day (November 11, 2008). The book garnered praise from filmmaker Ken Burns
, journalist Tom Brokaw
, and historians Walter Isaacson
, Doris Kearns Goodwin
, and Stanley Karnow
.
Collaborating with Harvard documentary filmmaker Randolph Bell, he is writing, producing, and directing a documentary on the use of suicide
as a weapon of war. His articles have appeared in DoubleTake Magazine, Conde Nast Traveller, and Escape.
Serving as a Director of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial, Mr. Kennedy has led human rights missions to Haiti
, South Africa
, and Kenya
.
He co-founded the Urban Ecology Institute at Boston College
– where he taught in the Biology and English Departments – with the goal of causing change through community action and education. In response to the considerable ecological and economic challenges in the city of Boston, the Urban Ecology Institute studies the emerging field of urban ecology
to help residents understand the natural resources in their communities and take action to protect them.
An avid civil rights and environmental rights advocate, Mr. Kennedy spoke at the Loyola Marymount University Bellarmine Forum in 2006 on the importance of urban ecology. Kennedy claimed that the Jesuit colleges should be more involved in their local communities, and that scientists, educators and attorneys must work with middle- and high-school youth to improve science and civic education, and to protect and transform natural resources before they are lost forever.
Mr. Kennedy is working with the Pearl Coalition to build a museum of remembrance and recognition of the greatest African American Slave escape in American History.
While at Georgetown University
, he concentrated on Latin-American
history, and has made dozens of trips through Central and Latin America, spending time in nearly every country in South America
. He joined a Venezuela
n mapping team to attempt to create the first detailed maps of the upper reaches of the Rio Caroni. He co-led (with Barry Clifford
) an expedition to locate the sunken French fleet of Admiral D`Estress off the Las Aves Archipelago
of Venezuela, and participated in the subsequent filming of the BBC/Discovery Channel Documentary about the lost fleet, which had sunk in 1678 while attempting to sack the Dutch at Curaçao. Max Kennedy partially financed and produced two Venezuelan historical long featured films about Manuela Saenz
in 2000 (Lover of Simon Bolivar
and Colonel in the Venezuelan Independence Army) and Francisco de Miranda
in 2005 (Leader of Venezuelan Independence). His name appears on the credits of both films and other Venezuelan films to which he has contributed. Kennedy has toured the Venezuelan Barrio
s, and was successfully involved in the fundraising of donations from the U.S. to the homeless children’s shelter run by Fundación Atenea in Caracas
.
Mr Kennedy has had extensive meetings with Leopoldo Lopez
, former Mayor of Chacao
– formerly one of the only elected opposition figures in Caracas – and with Henrique Capriles, former Mayor of Baruta and current Governor of the State of Miranda
. He has been a personal friend for more than 15 years to Maria Corina Machado
, the head of SUMATE
( a Venezuelan NGO that promotes clean elections ) and an individual who has been indicted by the Government under several criminal charges for that reason.
He is currently a research fellow at the John Carter Brown Library for Advanced Research in History and the Humanities at Brown University
.
Kennedy began working as a field organizer for the first congressional campaign of Joseph Kennedy
in 1986, where he organized wards in Allston and Brighton. Later, he managed the re-election campaign for Senator Edward M. Kennedy in 2000. Max Kennedy has volunteered on a number of other campaigns, including the presidential campaigns of Edward M. Kennedy in 1980; Michael Dukakis
in 1988; Al Gore
in 2000; John Kerry
in 2004, and as a surrogate for Barack Obama
in 2008.
In 2001 the Boston and New York media touted Kennedy as a possible candidate for Massachusetts's 9th congressional district
, a seat vacated by Democrat Joe Moakley
. Kennedy never declared his candidacy, citing his desire to spend time with his family, including his three children under the age of 10.
Maxwell Kennedy endorsed then-Senator Barack Obama
early in the primary season, and campaigned for Senator Obama throughout 2008 at approximately 200 events in crucial swing states, including Ohio, Colorado, New Mexico, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. In Scranton, Pennsylvania
, he visited diners and doughnut shops at six a.m. and led senior citizens in singing old Irish ballads at lunch centers; Kennedy campaigned in Indiana on Martin Luther King day
and again during the Jefferson-Jackson dinner; he campaigned also across Texas
from Austin
to Dallas and Fort Worth through San Antonio;. He phone-banked for Senator Obama and spoke at several Rock the Vote
Bus Tour events. He also introduced Senator Obama at a dinner in Hickory Hill
.
In October 2009, Kennedy announced that he would be endorsing Alan Khazei
in the special election
to fill the US Senate seat of his late uncle, Ted Kennedy
.
When Max and Edward Kennedy Jr. were children, grandmother Rose would tell them the story of how their uncle, President John F. Kennedy
, saved a member of his PT boat
crew in World War II by towing him to an island. Max visited the Solomon Islands
in 2002 with Robert Ballard
to revisit the scene of the story of John F. Kennedy's PT-109
. He presented a bust of the late president to Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana
, the native coastwatcher scouts who found the missing Kennedy and his crew.
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...
and Ethel Skakel Kennedy
Ethel Skakel Kennedy
Ethel Skakel Kennedy is the widow of Robert F. Kennedy, who served as Attorney General of the United States and a United States Senator for the state of New York.-Early life:...
, and a member of the Kennedy family
Kennedy family
In the United States, the phrase Kennedy family commonly refers to the family descending from the marriage of the Irish-Americans Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. and Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald that was prominent in American politics and government. Their political involvement has revolved around the...
.
Early years
Kennedy was born in New York, New York, and baptized by Monsignor William McCormack in ManhattanManhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
's St. Patrick's Cathedral
St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York
The Cathedral of St. Patrick is a decorated Neo-Gothic-style Roman Catholic cathedral church in the United States...
, in front of a crowd of 200 people. He is named after General Maxwell Taylor, then serving as the American Ambassador to Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, who did not attend the baptism.
Graduating with honors from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
where he majored in American history, Max was a member of the Spee Club of Harvard University, a Final Club. He married Victoria Anne Strauss, the granddaughter of Maurice "Moe" Strauss
Maurice "Moe" Strauss
Maurice "Moe" Strauss was one of the four founders of the Delaware Valley-based automotive parts retailer Pep Boys – Manny, Moe & Jack. After mustering out of the Navy in 1921 he and three friends from World War I, Emanuel "Manny" Rosenfeld, Graham "Jack" Jackson and Moe Radavitz, chipped in $200...
(born February 10, 1964) on July 13, 1991 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
.
Both he and his wife graduated in 1992 from the University of Virginia School of Law
University of Virginia School of Law
The University of Virginia School of Law was founded in Charlottesville in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as one of the original subjects taught at his "academical village," the University of Virginia. The law school maintains an enrollment of approximately 1,100 students in its initial degree program...
, where he was elected President of the Student Legal Forum. Both his father
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...
and his uncle, Senator Ted Kennedy
Ted Kennedy
Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...
had served as presidents of the Student Legal Forum during their respective times at the University of Virginia School of Law
University of Virginia School of Law
The University of Virginia School of Law was founded in Charlottesville in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as one of the original subjects taught at his "academical village," the University of Virginia. The law school maintains an enrollment of approximately 1,100 students in its initial degree program...
.
Writing
Kennedy wrote the national best-selling book titled Make Gentle the Life of This World : The Vision of Robert F. Kennedy and the Words That Inspired Him.He is also the author of Danger's Hour: The Story of the USS Bunker Hill and the Kamikaze Pilot Who Crippled Her, which was released by Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins...
on Veteran's Day (November 11, 2008). The book garnered praise from filmmaker Ken Burns
Ken Burns
Kenneth Lauren "Ken" Burns is an American director and producer of documentary films, known for his style of using archival footage and photographs...
, journalist Tom Brokaw
Tom Brokaw
Thomas John "Tom" Brokaw is an American television journalist and author best known as the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News from 1982 to 2004. He is the author of The Greatest Generation and other books and the recipient of numerous awards and honors...
, and historians Walter Isaacson
Walter Isaacson
Walter Isaacson is a writer and biographer. He is the President and CEO of the Aspen Institute, a nonpartisan educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, D.C. He has been the Chairman and CEO of CNN and the Managing Editor of TIME...
, Doris Kearns Goodwin
Doris Kearns Goodwin
Doris Kearns Goodwin is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American biographer and historian, and an oft-seen political commentator. She is the author of biographies of several U.S...
, and Stanley Karnow
Stanley Karnow
Stanley Karnow is an American journalist and historian.After serving with the United States Army Air Forces in Asia during World War II, he graduated from Harvard with a bachelor's degree in 1947; in 1947 and 1948 he attended the Sorbonne, and from 1948 to 1949 the Institut d'Études Politiques de...
.
Collaborating with Harvard documentary filmmaker Randolph Bell, he is writing, producing, and directing a documentary on the use of suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
as a weapon of war. His articles have appeared in DoubleTake Magazine, Conde Nast Traveller, and Escape.
Civil, Human, and Environmental Rights Work
He began his law career in July 1992 by serving for three years as an assistant district attorney in Philadelphia.Serving as a Director of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial, Mr. Kennedy has led human rights missions to Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, and Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
.
He co-founded the Urban Ecology Institute at Boston College
Boston College
Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
– where he taught in the Biology and English Departments – with the goal of causing change through community action and education. In response to the considerable ecological and economic challenges in the city of Boston, the Urban Ecology Institute studies the emerging field of urban ecology
Urban ecology
Urban ecology is a subfield of ecology which deals with the interaction between organisms in an urban or urbanized community, and their interaction with that community. Urban ecologists study the trees, rivers, wildlife and open spaces found in cities to understand the extent of those resources and...
to help residents understand the natural resources in their communities and take action to protect them.
An avid civil rights and environmental rights advocate, Mr. Kennedy spoke at the Loyola Marymount University Bellarmine Forum in 2006 on the importance of urban ecology. Kennedy claimed that the Jesuit colleges should be more involved in their local communities, and that scientists, educators and attorneys must work with middle- and high-school youth to improve science and civic education, and to protect and transform natural resources before they are lost forever.
Mr. Kennedy is working with the Pearl Coalition to build a museum of remembrance and recognition of the greatest African American Slave escape in American History.
While at Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
, he concentrated on Latin-American
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
history, and has made dozens of trips through Central and Latin America, spending time in nearly every country in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. He joined a Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
n mapping team to attempt to create the first detailed maps of the upper reaches of the Rio Caroni. He co-led (with Barry Clifford
Barry Clifford
Barry Clifford is an underwater archaeological explorer best known for discovering the remains of the wrecked ship Whydah in 1984. The Whydah is the only fully verified pirate shipwreck ever discovered, and, as such, artifacts from the wreck provide unique insights into the material culture of 18th...
) an expedition to locate the sunken French fleet of Admiral D`Estress off the Las Aves Archipelago
Las Aves Archipelago
The Las Aves Archipelagois a pristine archipelago in the Caribbean Sea, and is part of the Federal Dependencies of Venezuela. It is located north of the Venezuelan states of Aragua and Carabobo, between the Dutch island Bonaire in the west, and the Los Roques Archipelago in the east, at . The prime...
of Venezuela, and participated in the subsequent filming of the BBC/Discovery Channel Documentary about the lost fleet, which had sunk in 1678 while attempting to sack the Dutch at Curaçao. Max Kennedy partially financed and produced two Venezuelan historical long featured films about Manuela Saenz
Manuela Sáenz
Doña Manuela Sáenz was born in Quito, Viceroyalty of New Granada and died in Paita, Peru. She was a revolutionary hero of South America, who also became the mistress of the South American revolutionary leader, Simón Bolívar...
in 2000 (Lover of Simon Bolivar
Simón Bolívar
Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte y Yeiter, commonly known as Simón Bolívar was a Venezuelan military and political leader...
and Colonel in the Venezuelan Independence Army) and Francisco de Miranda
Francisco de Miranda
Sebastián Francisco de Miranda Ravelo y Rodríguez de Espinoza , commonly known as Francisco de Miranda , was a Venezuelan revolutionary...
in 2005 (Leader of Venezuelan Independence). His name appears on the credits of both films and other Venezuelan films to which he has contributed. Kennedy has toured the Venezuelan Barrio
Barrio
Barrio is a Spanish word meaning district or neighborhood.-Usage:In its formal usage in English, barrios are generally considered cohesive places, sharing, for example, a church and traditions such as feast days...
s, and was successfully involved in the fundraising of donations from the U.S. to the homeless children’s shelter run by Fundación Atenea in Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
.
Mr Kennedy has had extensive meetings with Leopoldo Lopez
Leopoldo López
Leopoldo López Mendoza is a Venezuelan politician and economist. From 2000 until 2008, López was the mayor of the Chacao Municipality of Caracas. A 2006 Los Angeles Times article describes López as an immensely popular leader of the opposition to Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, as well as a...
, former Mayor of Chacao
Chacao Municipality, Miranda
Chacao Municipality, is one of the five political and administrative subdivisions of the city of Caracas, Venezuela. The other four are Baruta, El Hatillo, Libertador and Sucre. This legal entity is known as the Caracas Metropolitan District...
– formerly one of the only elected opposition figures in Caracas – and with Henrique Capriles, former Mayor of Baruta and current Governor of the State of Miranda
Miranda (state)
Miranda State is one of the 23 states into which Venezuela is divided. It is ranked second in population among Venezuelan states, after Zulia State. In June 30, 2010, it had approximately 2,987,968 residents. It also has the greatest Human Development Index in Venezuela, according to the...
. He has been a personal friend for more than 15 years to Maria Corina Machado
María Corina Machado
María Corina Machado Parisca is a founder, former vice president, and former president of the Venezuelan volunteer civil organization Súmate, along with Alejandro Plaz....
, the head of SUMATE
Súmate
Súmate is a Venezuelan volunteer civil association founded in 2002 by María Corina Machado and Alejandro Plaz. Súmate describes itself as a vote-monitoring group; it has also been described as an election-monitoring group....
( a Venezuelan NGO that promotes clean elections ) and an individual who has been indicted by the Government under several criminal charges for that reason.
He is currently a research fellow at the John Carter Brown Library for Advanced Research in History and the Humanities at Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
.
Politics
Although Kennedy has never run for public office, he has shown a consistent interest in public affairs, and has been involved in many campaigns, usually as a field organizer.Kennedy began working as a field organizer for the first congressional campaign of Joseph Kennedy
Joseph Patrick Kennedy II
Joseph Patrick Kennedy II is an American businessman and Democratic politician.He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from the 8th congressional district of Massachusetts from 1987 to 1999. In 1979 he founded and led until election to the U.S...
in 1986, where he organized wards in Allston and Brighton. Later, he managed the re-election campaign for Senator Edward M. Kennedy in 2000. Max Kennedy has volunteered on a number of other campaigns, including the presidential campaigns of Edward M. Kennedy in 1980; Michael Dukakis
Michael Dukakis
Michael Stanley Dukakis served as the 65th and 67th Governor of Massachusetts from 1975–1979 and from 1983–1991, and was the Democratic presidential nominee in 1988. He was born to Greek immigrants in Brookline, Massachusetts, also the birthplace of John F. Kennedy, and was the longest serving...
in 1988; Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
in 2000; John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
in 2004, and as a surrogate for Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
in 2008.
In 2001 the Boston and New York media touted Kennedy as a possible candidate for Massachusetts's 9th congressional district
Massachusetts's 9th congressional district
Massachusetts's 9th congressional district is in eastern Massachusetts, including part of Boston and some of its southern suburbs. It is currently represented by Stephen Lynch, who has served the district since 2001. It has subsumed much of the former 11th District in the south suburbs of Boston...
, a seat vacated by Democrat Joe Moakley
Joe Moakley
John Joseph "Joe" Moakley was a Democratic congressman from the Ninth District of Massachusetts, a seat held two years earlier by Speaker John William McCormack. Moakley was the last chairman of the U.S...
. Kennedy never declared his candidacy, citing his desire to spend time with his family, including his three children under the age of 10.
Maxwell Kennedy endorsed then-Senator Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
early in the primary season, and campaigned for Senator Obama throughout 2008 at approximately 200 events in crucial swing states, including Ohio, Colorado, New Mexico, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. In Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S...
, he visited diners and doughnut shops at six a.m. and led senior citizens in singing old Irish ballads at lunch centers; Kennedy campaigned in Indiana on Martin Luther King day
Martin Luther King Day
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a United States federal holiday marking the birthday of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It is observed on the third Monday of January each year, which is around the time of King's birthday, January 15. The floating holiday is similar to holidays set under the Uniform...
and again during the Jefferson-Jackson dinner; he campaigned also across Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
from Austin
Austin
Austin is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas.Austin may also refer to:-In the United States:*Austin, Arkansas*Austin, Colorado*Austin, Chicago, Illinois*Austin, Indiana*Austin, Minnesota*Austin, Nevada*Austin, Oregon...
to Dallas and Fort Worth through San Antonio;. He phone-banked for Senator Obama and spoke at several Rock the Vote
Rock the Vote
Rock the Vote is a non-profit organization in the United States of America whose mission is to engage and build the political power of young people....
Bus Tour events. He also introduced Senator Obama at a dinner in Hickory Hill
Hickory Hill (McLean, Virginia)
Hickory Hill is a large brick house in McLean, Virginia, in the United States, believed to have been built ca. 1840 . The land on which it is built is part of a Lee family tract of land called Langley. General George B...
.
In October 2009, Kennedy announced that he would be endorsing Alan Khazei
Alan Khazei
Alan Khazei is an American social entrepreneur. He is the founder and chief executive officer of Be the Change, Inc., a Boston-based group dedicated to building national coalitions of non-profit organizations and citizens to enact legislation on issues such as poverty and education...
in the special election
United States Senate special election in Massachusetts, 2010
The 2010 United States Senate special election in Massachusetts was a special election held on January 19, 2010, in order to fill the Massachusetts Class I United States Senate seat for the remainder of the term ending January 3, 2013...
to fill the US Senate seat of his late uncle, Ted Kennedy
Personal life
He and his wife Victoria have three children: Matthew Maxwell Taylor Kennedy, Jr., born September 18, 1993; Caroline Summer Rose Kennedy, born December 29, 1994; and Noah Isabella Rose Kennedy, born July 9, 1998, in Hyannis, MassachusettsHyannis, Massachusetts
Hyannis is the largest of seven villages in Barnstable, Massachusetts. Also it is the commercial and transportation hub of Cape Cod and was designated an urban area as a result of the 1990 census. Because of this, many refer to Hyannis as the "Capital of the Cape"...
.
When Max and Edward Kennedy Jr. were children, grandmother Rose would tell them the story of how their uncle, President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
, saved a member of his PT boat
PT boat
PT Boats were a variety of motor torpedo boat , a small, fast vessel used by the United States Navy in World War II to attack larger surface ships. The PT boat squadrons were nicknamed "the mosquito fleet". The Japanese called them "Devil Boats".The original pre–World War I torpedo boats were...
crew in World War II by towing him to an island. Max visited the Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of . The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal...
in 2002 with Robert Ballard
Robert Ballard
Robert Duane Ballard is a former United States Navy officer and a professor of oceanography at the University of Rhode Island who is most noted for his work in underwater archaeology. He is most famous for the discoveries of the wrecks of the RMS Titanic in 1985, the battleship Bismarck in 1989,...
to revisit the scene of the story of John F. Kennedy's PT-109
Motor Torpedo Boat PT-109
PT-109 was a PT boat last commanded by Lieutenant, junior grade John F. Kennedy in the Pacific Theater during World War II...
. He presented a bust of the late president to Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana
Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana
Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana were indigenous people of Solomon Islands, of native Melanesian descent, who found John F. Kennedy and his surviving PT-109 crew following the boat's collision with the Japanese destroyer Amagiri near Plum Pudding Island on 1 August 1943...
, the native coastwatcher scouts who found the missing Kennedy and his crew.
Books
- Make Gentle the Life of This World: The Vision of Robert F. Kennedy (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1998)
- Danger's Hour: The Story of the USS Bunker Hill and the Kamikaze Pilot Who Crippled Her (Simon and Schuster, 2008), ISBN 9780743260800
External links
- A Kennedy on Kamikaze
- Danger's Hour
- Team Kennedy
- Maritime Excavations
- Interview on Danger's Hour at the Pritzker Military Library