Robert Francis Kennedy (20 November 1925 – 6 June 1968) was Attorney-General of the United States from 20 January 1961 to 3 September 1964, succeeding William P. Rogers and preceding Nicholas Katzenbach, and Senator from New York from 3 January 1965 to 6 June 1968, succeeding Kenneth Keating and preceding Charles Goodell. Kennedy was the brother of John F. Kennedy and a member of the US Democratic Party, and he served as Attorney-General under his brother. Kennedy was attempting to run for the presidency when he was assassinated by Palestinian gunman Sirhan Sirhan at Los Angeles' Ambassador Hotel on 6 June 1968 due to his support for Israel.
Biography[]
RFK in 1962
Robert Francis Kennedy was born in Brookline, Massachusetts on 20 November 1925, the seventh child of Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.. Kennedy served in the US Navy Reserve during World War II, and he studied at Harvard University after the war. Kennedy was a football star at Harvard, and he became a journalist after graduation. In 1951, he began work as a lawyer, investigating suspected Soviet agents as well as fraud cases in Brooklyn, New York City. Kennedy managed his brother John F. Kennedy's successful 1952 senatorial campaign in Massachusetts, and Kennedy would become a professional political aide, helping Adlai Stevenson's 1956 US Democratic Party presidential campaign. From 1957 to 1959, he worked on a Rackets Committee, and he became the manager of his brother's successful presidential campaign in 1960.
Attorney-General of the United States[]
MLK with RFK in 1963
Robert F. Kennedy was approved as Attorney-General of the United States after his brother nominated him to the post, taking office on 20 January 1961. Kennedy had no experience in state or federal court, but he did have experience in fighting organized crime. Convictions of American Mafia members rose by 800% during Kennedy's term as Attorney-General, and he led a crusade against organized crime and the corruption seen within the Teamsters. Kennedy also fought for civil rights; although he opposed the Freedom Rides due to their lack of protection, Kennedy sent US Marshals to enforce the integration of the University of Mississippi, and Kennedy believed that African-Americans had a right to the same education as whites.
In November 1963, John F. Kennedy was assassinated by communist sympathizer Lee Harvey Oswald in Dallas, Texas. Robert F. Kennedy had a horrible relationship with Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, who assumed the presidency after the Kennedy assassination; RFK was the favored vice-presidential candidate for Johnson when he ran for president in 1964, but the mutual contempt between the two men led to Hubert Humphrey being chosen as the vice-presidential candidate.
New York Senator[]
RFK presidential campaign badge, 1968
On 3 January 1965, Kennedy assumed office as Senator from New York, having left the post of Attorney-General due to his rivalry with President Johnson. Kennedy became an advocate for gun control, saying that criminals, the underaged, and the mentally ill should not be able to acquire firearms. In June 1966, Kennedy spoke out against apartheid when he visited South Africa, and he also fought against poverty and hunger across the country after seeing starving children in Mississippi.
In 1968, the popular RFK decided to run for President of the United States after President Johnson announced that he would not seek reelection due to his growing unpopularity. Kennedy delivered a moving speech in response to the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. while he was campaigning in Indianapolis, Indiana on 4 April 1968, and his famous speech prevented the city from facing the riots that plagued 60 other cities. By May, it looked like he could challenge Hubert Humphrey for the Democratic nomination, provided that he was able to win the vital California primary.
Assassination[]
RFK after being shot
In June 1968, Robert F. Kennedy won the California primary, and he stayed at The Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. Shortly after midnight on 5 June, he left the hotel ballroom after giving a speech to his supporters, and he decided to take a shortcut to the hotel's press room by going through the kitchen. Kennedy walked through the crowded passageway, and he stopped to shake hands with busboy Juan Romero. It was at this time that the Palestinian Christian Sirhan Sirhan fired three shots from a .22-caliber revolver at Kennedy before being tackled. Kennedy told Romero that everything was going to be okay, and his last words were, "Don't lift me," talking to paramedics who were bringing a stretcher to the scene. Kennedy died at the Good Samaritan Hospital from his wounds, dying at the young age of 42.
Gallery[]
