Edward Moore Kennedy, also known as Ted, was a U.S. senator from Massachusetts for nearly five decades. Born into one of the most powerful and legendary political families in American history, he first joined the Senate in 1962 to fill the seat left when his brother John F. Kennedy was elected President of the United States. He was re-elected eight times and served until his death in 2009, making him the third-longest-serving Senator in U.S. history. Ted Kennedy lived a life marked with controversy and personal tragedy, but he gained a reputation as a steadfast liberal politician who worked tirelessly on issues such as education and health care. As an elder statesman of the senate, Ted Kennedy’s bipartisan diplomacy created a legacy of policy legislation that earned him his own place in American history.