Ethel Kennedy
Photo: Digangloff · CC BY-SA 4.0

Person in history

Ethel Kennedy

Ethel Kennedy, American philanthropist (born 1928)

Life at a glance

Died
2024 · October 10
Known as
socialite. Citizenship: United States

Their story

Who they were

Ethel Kennedy was an American human rights advocate. She was the widow of U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, a sister-in-law of U.S. president John F. Kennedy, and a daughter of businessman George Skakel.

Early life

Educated at: Manhattanville University.

Early life and education Ethel Skakel was born on April 11, 1928, in Chicago, Illinois , to businessman George Skakel and Ann Brannack. [ 1 ] She was the sixth of seven children, with a younger sister named Ann and five elder siblings: Georgeann, James, George Jr., Rushton, and Patricia. [ 2 ] George Skakel was the founder of Great Lakes Carbon Corporation, which later became a division of SGL Carbon . [ 3 ] He was of Dutch descent and a Protestant [ 4 ] [ 5 ] [ 6 ]

Path and career

Awards / honours: Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Later life and death Kennedy in 2000 During the late 1970s, with a renewed commitment to public service, Kennedy focused much of her time and energy on various social causes, including the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Project . [ 1 ] In 1992, Kennedy and her son Michael made a cameo appearance on the NBC sitcom Cheers in Boston. [ 2 ] During the 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries , Kennedy endorsed Barack Obama . [ 3 ]

Legacy and awards In 1981, President Ronald Reagan honored Kennedy with the Robert F. Kennedy medal in the White House Rose Garden . [ 1 ] In 2014, a bridge over the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C., was renamed the Ethel Kennedy Bridge in her honor, in recognition of her advocacy for environmentalism and social causes in the District of Columbia. [ 2 ] That same year,

Why this date

Ethel Kennedy appears on our October 10 calendar for 2024 as a death entry.

Sources

Cite this page

“Ethel Kennedy”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/people/ethel-kennedy, accessed October 25, 2026.

Cite the underlying source as well — the source links above go to the record this entry is adapted from.

Questions about Ethel Kennedy

When did Ethel Kennedy die?

October 10 2024.

Who else was born on this day?

The date page lists everyone we hold for that calendar day.

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