Photo: Ed Clark/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty
Some say the “Kennedy curse” is real.
“Generally, they did not believe in the curse,”The Kennedy HeirsauthorJ. Randy Taraborrellitold PEOPLE of the family in May 2019. “It wasTed Kennedywho came up with the concept of the curse afterChappaquiddick, when he was giving his public address — and said he wondered if perhaps that explained the terrible things that had happened to the family, includingthe death of Mary Jo Kopechne. And after that, the Kennedy curse became this sort of wide-ranging explanation for a lot of things that were happening. But when things got rough for them, I think they slipped into wondering if maybe there really was some kind of curse.”
The curse: Is it fact or fiction?
It’s a question that has haunted American history in perpetuity, though it’s better to let the stories of the countless Kennedy family tragedies speak for themselves.
01of 13Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., 1944Bettmann/GettyOn Aug. 12, 1944, while serving in the United States Navy during World War II,Joseph P. Kennedy Jr.was killed in a plane crash. Joseph Sr. and Rose’s eldest child, and PresidentJohn F. Kennedy’s brother, was 29 years old.
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Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., 1944
Bettmann/Getty
On Aug. 12, 1944, while serving in the United States Navy during World War II,Joseph P. Kennedy Jr.was killed in a plane crash. Joseph Sr. and Rose’s eldest child, and PresidentJohn F. Kennedy’s brother, was 29 years old.
02of 13Kathleen Kennedy, 1948Horace Abrahams/Keystone/Hulton Archive/GettyFour years later, Joseph Sr. and Rose lost another child,Kathleen Kennedy. Also known as “Kick” Kennedy, she died in a plane crash on May 13, 1948, while on a flight from Paris to the French Riviera. She was 28.
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Kathleen Kennedy, 1948
Horace Abrahams/Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty
Four years later, Joseph Sr. and Rose lost another child,Kathleen Kennedy. Also known as “Kick” Kennedy, she died in a plane crash on May 13, 1948, while on a flight from Paris to the French Riviera. She was 28.
03of 13John F. Kennedy, 1963In this Nov. 22, 1963 photo, President John F. Kennedy — seated next to his wife, Jackie — waves from his car in a motorcade in Dallas.AP Photo/Jim Altgens, FilePresident Kennedywas assassinated in Dallason Nov. 22, 1963. JFK was riding in the presidential motorcade alongside his wife,Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis; Texas Gov. John Connally; and Connally’s wife, Nellie, when Lee Harvey Oswald fatally shot him. The 35th president of the United States was 46 years old.
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John F. Kennedy, 1963
In this Nov. 22, 1963 photo, President John F. Kennedy — seated next to his wife, Jackie — waves from his car in a motorcade in Dallas.AP Photo/Jim Altgens, File
AP Photo/Jim Altgens, File
President Kennedywas assassinated in Dallason Nov. 22, 1963. JFK was riding in the presidential motorcade alongside his wife,Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis; Texas Gov. John Connally; and Connally’s wife, Nellie, when Lee Harvey Oswald fatally shot him. The 35th president of the United States was 46 years old.
04of 13Robert F. Kennedy, 1968Robert F. Kennedy posing for a portrait.Michael Ochs Archives/GettyFive years later, on June 5, 1968, JFK’s brotherRobert F. Kennedywasassassinated while on the presidential campaign trail. The former senator and attorney general wasshot after giving a victory speechat Los Angeles' Ambassador Hotel after winning the California primary. He was 42 years old.
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Robert F. Kennedy, 1968
Robert F. Kennedy posing for a portrait.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty
Five years later, on June 5, 1968, JFK’s brotherRobert F. Kennedywasassassinated while on the presidential campaign trail. The former senator and attorney general wasshot after giving a victory speechat Los Angeles' Ambassador Hotel after winning the California primary. He was 42 years old.
05of 13Ted Kennedy and the Chappaquiddick incident, 1969Stan Wolfson/Newsday RM via GettyOn July 18, 1969, Teddrove his car off a bridgeon Chappaquiddick Island in Edgartown, Mass., killing 28-year-old Kopechne, who was trapped inside. According to Ted, he and his cousin Joe Gargan and friend Paul Markham attempted to save Kopechne. Teddid not report Kopechne’s deathuntil 10 hours after the accident.
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Ted Kennedy and the Chappaquiddick incident, 1969
Stan Wolfson/Newsday RM via Getty
On July 18, 1969, Teddrove his car off a bridgeon Chappaquiddick Island in Edgartown, Mass., killing 28-year-old Kopechne, who was trapped inside. According to Ted, he and his cousin Joe Gargan and friend Paul Markham attempted to save Kopechne. Teddid not report Kopechne’s deathuntil 10 hours after the accident.
06of 13David Kennedy, 1984AP/REX/ShutterstockThe son of Robert and Ethel Kennedy,David Kennedydied on April 25, 1984, of a drug overdose in Palm Beach, Fla. He was 28 years old.
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David Kennedy, 1984
AP/REX/Shutterstock
The son of Robert and Ethel Kennedy,David Kennedydied on April 25, 1984, of a drug overdose in Palm Beach, Fla. He was 28 years old.
07of 13Michael Kennedy, 1997Brian Quigley/The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images/GettyIn 1997,Michael Kennedy, son of Robert andEthel Kennedy, waskilled in a skiing accidentin Aspen, Colo., on New Year’s Eve. He was 39 years old.
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Michael Kennedy, 1997
Brian Quigley/The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images/Getty
In 1997,Michael Kennedy, son of Robert andEthel Kennedy, waskilled in a skiing accidentin Aspen, Colo., on New Year’s Eve. He was 39 years old.
08of 13John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, 1999John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy in 1999.Justin Ide/GettyOn July 16, 1999,John F. Kennedy Jr.died in a plane crashoff of Martha’s Vineyard alongside his wife,Carolyn Bessette, and sister-in-law, Lauren Bessette. JFK Jr. was piloting the plane at the time of the crash. The president’s son was 38.
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John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, 1999
John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy in 1999.Justin Ide/Getty
On July 16, 1999,John F. Kennedy Jr.died in a plane crashoff of Martha’s Vineyard alongside his wife,Carolyn Bessette, and sister-in-law, Lauren Bessette. JFK Jr. was piloting the plane at the time of the crash. The president’s son was 38.
09of 13Kara Kennedy, 2011Chip Somodevilla/GettyKara Kennedy, daughter of Sen.Edward M. Kennedyand niece of Robert and JFK,died at 51of a heart attack on Sept. 16, 2011, while working out at a gym in Washington, D.C.
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Kara Kennedy, 2011
Chip Somodevilla/Getty
Kara Kennedy, daughter of Sen.Edward M. Kennedyand niece of Robert and JFK,died at 51of a heart attack on Sept. 16, 2011, while working out at a gym in Washington, D.C.
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Mary Kennedy, 2012
Michael N. Todaro/FilmMagic
11of 13Christopher Kennedy Lawford, 2018Greg Doherty/GettyJFK’s nephew, the son of Peter Lawford and Patricia Kennedy,died from a heart attackon Sept. 4, 2018, in Vancouver, Canada. He was 63 years old.
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Christopher Kennedy Lawford, 2018
Greg Doherty/Getty
JFK’s nephew, the son of Peter Lawford and Patricia Kennedy,died from a heart attackon Sept. 4, 2018, in Vancouver, Canada. He was 63 years old.
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Saoirse Kennedy Hill, 2019
On Aug. 1, 2019, Robert and Ethel’s granddaughter Saoirse Kennedy Hill was found dead at her family’s Massachusetts estate. Aged 22, hercause of death was an accidental overdose.
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Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean, 2020
David and Maeve McKean and their family in December 2019.Mike Pont/Getty
RFK’s granddaughter Maeve Kennedy Townsend McKean and her young son, Gideon,went missing, according to her husband, David McKean, after acanoeing accidentin Chesapeake Bay on April 2, 2020.
DavidtoldThe Washington Postthat Maeve and Gideon had “popped into a canoe” to go and retrieve a ball that had landed in the water while their family was visiting at her mom’s waterfront property in Shady Side, Md.
“They just got farther out than they could handle and couldn’t get back in,” David told thePost.
On April 6, Maeve’s bodywas recoveredabout 2.5 miles away from the Shady Side property; Gideon’s wasdiscovered two days later.
Paris C.
source: people.com
