The Kennedy Curse - Definition

"The Kennedy Curse" is a term used by some commentators for what they see as the series of tragic and often unfortunate deaths of members of the Kennedy family. The supposed "curse" began in the early 1940s, and has most recently manifested itself in the death of John F. Kennedy, Jr. No statistical studies have demonstrated that there is any particular excess of death or accidental death within this (rather broadly defined and populous) family, as compared with other similarly defined families.

Chronology

Believers in the "curse" generally cite the following events as evidence of the family's misfortunes.

• 1941 - Rosemary Kennedy is given a lobotomy to treat what may have been mild mental retardation or perhaps dyslexia. The results are disastrous, she remains in an instituion until her death in 2005.

• 1944 - Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., the eldest son of the Kennedy patriarch Joseph Kennedy, is killed over the English Channel while flying a voluntary mission during World War II.

• 1948 - Kathleen Kennedy dies in another plane crash, this time in France.

• August 7, 1963 - Patrick B. Kennedy, the second son of John F and Jacqueline Kennedy, dies just after being born nearly 6 weeks premature.

• November 22, 1963 - President John F. Kennedy is assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas, Texas.

• 1964 - Senator Ted Kennedy, the youngest of the original Kennedy children, nearly dies in a plane crash which takes the life of an aide, Edward Moss.

• June 5, 1968 - Robert F. Kennedy, brother to both John and Ted, is assassinated by Sirhan Sirhan in Los Angeles immediately following his victory in the California Democratic presidential primary.

• 1969 - "Chappaquiddick Incident" - Ted Kennedy drives off a bridge on his way home from a beach party. Mary Jo Kopechne, an aide to Bobby Kennedy, dies in the accident.

• 1973 - Ted Kennedy, Jr. loses his right leg due to cancer.

• 1973 - Joseph P. Kennedy II, son of Robert and Ethel, is the driver in a Cape Cod car accident that leaves one passenger permanently paralyzed.

• 1984 - David A. Kennedy, another son of Robert, dies from a cocaine overdose in a Palm Beach, Florida hotel room.

• 1986 - Patrick Kennedy, a son of Senator Ted Kennedy, begins treatment for cocaine addiction.

• 1988 - Christina Onassis, step-daughter of Jacqueline Kennedy, dies of drug abuse-related heart failure.

• 1991 - William Kennedy Smith, son of Jean Kennedy, is accused of raping a woman in Palm Beach, Florida. He is tried and acquitted.

• 1997 - Michael Kennedy, son of Robert, is killed in a skiing accident in Aspen, Colorado.

• 1999 - John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, and Carolyn's sister Lauren Bessette, die when Kennedy's plane crashes into the ocean on a foggy afternoon en route from New York to Martha's Vineyard.