Nov. 6, 1962
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, 30, the youngest brother of President John F. Kennedy, waves to party workers in Boston with his wife, Joan, after his election to the Senate.
AP
Aug. 15, 1980
President Jimmy Carter, left, shakes hands with Kennedy on the podium at the Democratic National Convention in New York's Madison Square Garden. The two had vied for the Democratic presidential nomination. Kennedy gave one of his most famous speeches at the convention. Known for fighting for the poor and downtrodden, Kennedy told the audience: "For all those whose cares have been our concern, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die."
AP
July 17, 1981
Supreme Court nominee Sandra Day O'Connor and Kennedy speak to reporters on Capitol Hill. Kennedy praised O'Connor when she stepped down from the bench in 2005. "She was a careful and thoughtful and highly respected member of the court," he said.
Barry Thumma-AP
June 24, 1985
Kennedy talks with President Ronald Reagan, left, as they look at an American eagle statue that graced the desk of his brother, President John F. Kennedy, during a fundraising event for the John F. Kennedy Memorial Library in McLean, Va.
Charles Tasnadi-AP
March 21, 1990
Jocelyn Green, 5, presents Kennedy with a drawing before a congressional hearing. As chairman of the Labor and Human Resources Committee, Kennedy worked to create legislation affecting education and health care policies. For example, he sponsored the National Military Child Care Act, the Americans With Disabilities Act and the Ryan White CARE Act.
James K.W. Atherton-The Washington Post
In this undated photo, Kennedy and then-Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Joesph R. Biden (D-Del.) talk before a Judiciary Committee hearing on the role of Congress and the president in declaring and waging war. Upon Kennedy's death, Vice President Biden said that Kennedy "restored my sense of idealism and my faith in possibilities of what this country could do."
Ray Lustig-The Washington Post
Oct. 27, 1994
Kennedy and Mitt Romney, Kennedy's challenger in the Massachusetts Senate race, argue while answering a question concerning welfare during a televised debate at Holyoke Community College in Holyoke, Mass., in 1994.
Charles Krupa-AP
July 15, 1999
Kennedy rallies a crowd to support the Democrats' Patients Bill of Rights with College Democrats and representatives of the disability community. The bill provided new rights to Americans in managed-care health plans.
Ray Lustig-The Washington Post
Oct. 18, 2001
Kennedy talks to his Boston office from Capitol Hill, following reports of a suspicious package found in his Boston office.
Dennis Cook-AP
January 24, 2002
Then-first lady Laura Bush briefs the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on early childhood cognitive development. The forum was originally scheduled for Sept. 11, 2001, but was postponed due to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Penatgon.
Bill O'Leary-The Washington Post
Jan. 8, 2002
President George W. Bush and Kennedy enjoy a laugh prior to signing the No Child Left Behind bill at Hamilton High School in Hamilton, Ohio. Kennedy and the Bush White House worked closely to craft a bipartisan version of the bill.
Al Behrman-AP
June 11, 2002
Kennedy is shown at a press conference following a Senate vote to invoke cloture on the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act. The bill expanded upon a 1969 bill to include crimes motivated by discriminating against gender and sexuality. Kennedy initially co-sponsored the bill with then-Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.).
Ray Lustig-The Washington Post
Sept. 1, 2002
Kennedy, left, talks with with Senate Majority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) at an event where Senate Democrats pushed their fall agenda for pension reform.
Ray Lustig-The Washington Post
Sept. 1, 2002
Kennedy gives interviews to reporters on the Patient's Bill of Rights Bill from his office in the Senate Russell Office Building.
Ray Lustig-The Washington Post
Oct. 3, 2003
Both Kennedy and Sen. Robert Byrd (D-Va.) voted against the resolution authorizing the Iraq war. Byrd is the longest-serving member of the Senate, entering in 1959, while Kennedy followed soon after in 1962. Byrd said in a statement, "Senator Kennedy and I both witnessed too many wars in our lives, and believed too strongly in the Constitution of the United States to allow us to go blindly into war. That is why we stood side by side in the Senate against the war in Iraq. Neither years of age nor years of political combat, nor his illness, diminished the idealism and energy of this talented, imaginative, and intelligent man."
Frank Johnston-The Washington Post
Feb. 12, 2004
Kennedy, left, Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), center, and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), right, share a laugh before the start of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on the "Evaluating a Temporary Guest Worker Proposal" on Capitol Hill. Kennedy's congeniality and his willingness to work with the opposition were at the core of his legislative ability.
Manuel Balce Ceneta-AP
July 27, 2004
Kennedy spoke at three Democratic National Conventions. Here, in 2004, he waves to the crowd before his speech. Kennedy's address at the 1980 Democratic Convention is considered to be where he put to rest any presidential ambitions and began to focus on his political legacy in the Senate.
Melina Mara-The Washington Post
July 1, 2005
Kennedy and Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-Conn.), left, react to Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's announced retirement during a news conference on Capitol Hill. O'Connor was appointed by President Ronald Reagan but occasionally sided with more liberal opinions.
Dennis Cook-AP
Sept. 14, 2005
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (D-Pa.), left, confers with committee members Pat Leahy (D-Vt.), center, and Kennedy during the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice John Roberts. Kennedy served on the Judiciary Committee for the majority of his four decades in office.
Bill O'leary-The Washington Post
Jan. 10, 2006
Kennedy questions Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito on the second day of Alito's confirmation hearings. Kennedy wrote in an opinion piece for The Washington Post that both Roberts's and Alito's "voting record on the court reflects not the neutral, modest judicial philosophy they promised the Judiciary Committee, but an activist's embrace of the administration's political and ideological agenda."
Jahi Chikwendiu-The Washington Post
Jan. 11, 2006
Kennedy holds up a 1985 Concerned Alumni of Princeton newsletter as he questions Judge Samuel Alito during the Supreme Court nominee's confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill. Kennedy also wrote in the opinion piece that, "after confirmation, we saw an entirely different Roberts and Alito -- both partisans ready and willing to tilt the court away from the mainstream."
Susan Walsh-AP
March 6, 2006
Kennedy is seen between other senators at a news conference concerning the ongoing negotiations on immigration reform.
Melina Mara-The Washington Post
Sept. 7, 2006
Kennedy speaks to a crowd at an immigration rally in Washington. Kennedy has a long history of proposing immigration reform, beginning in 1965 when he led the successful Senate floor battle that passed what was popularly known as the Hart-Celler Act, landmark legislation that abolished immigration quotas.
Sarah L. Voisin-The Washington Post
Jan. 10, 2007
Kennedy speaks to the news media about the speech that President George W. Bush delivered to the nation that unveiled his new plan for military action in Iraq. Kennedy once said that his proudest Senate vote was his 2002 vote against authorizing Bush to use military force against Iraq.
Joe Raedle-Getty Images
Jan. 1, 2009
Kennedy arrives for the confirmation hearing for Rep. Hilda Solis (D-Calif.), President Obama's nominee for secretary of labor.
Nikki Kahn-The Washington Post
Jan. 9, 2009
Kennedy is joined on Capitol Hill by his wife, Vicki, and Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) after casting one of the votes needed for the Senate to approve an altered $829 billion economic stimulus package, 61 to 36.
Melina Mara-The Washington Post
March 5, 2009
Kennedy listens to the closing session of the White House's forum on health care reform in the East Room of the White House. Kennedy made health care one of the greatest causes of his lifetime. Analysts say the health care battle this year might have been different had he not been able to participate.
Chip Somodevilla-Getty Images
Gallery Credits:
Producer, Photo Editor Stephen Cook
Text Editor Emily Kotecki, Sarah Lovenheim
Sen. Kennedy's Life and Career, 1932 - 2009
Nation Reacts to Ted Kennedy's Death