Tragic Stories: The Sad Fate of The Kennedys

The Kennedy family went through a lot of tough times, with some members passing away too young. Here, you can find out more about their sad stories.

It all began in 1941 with Rosemary Kennedy, the mentally disabled sister of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy. Allegedly, she was subjected to a lobotomy, an operation on the brain, at the request of her father. Afterwards, Rosemary Kennedy could no longer walk or speak properly.

Three years later, Rosemary's brother, Joseph Kennedy Jr., met a tragic end when the plane he was on exploded during World War II. Her other brother, John F. Kennedy, also experienced a similarly sorrowful fate (see next picture).

John F. Kennedy, who passed away at the age of 46, served as the 35th President of the United States of America. Unfortunately, he was unable to finish his term as he was shot and killed on November 22, 1963, during a campaign event in Dallas. The suspect, Lee Harvey Oswald, was himself killed a few days after Kennedy's death. To this day, numerous conspiracy theories continue to circulate about the event. His wife, Jackie, also faced her share of hardships. Click on to discover more about it.

Jackie Kennedy went through a lot in her marriage to John F. Kennedy. She knew about his affairs and had two miscarriages in 1955 and 1956. In 1963, she lost her son Patrick just two days after his birth. Despite all this, she always appeared strong in public. After JFK's assassination, she married Aristotle Onassis in 1968, but their marriage wasn't happy. Onassis passed away after seven years. In 1994, it was revealed Jackie had lymphatic cancer. JFK's brother Robert also faced a tragic end.

Shortly after his acceptance speech on winning elections in South Dakota and California, John F. Kennedy's brother Robert F. Kennedy (†42) was shot and fatally wounded. He succumbed to his injuries on June 6, 1968. His killer, Sirhan Sirhan, is still in prison today.

John F. Kennedy's brother and U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy had also been through a lot: He was involved in a plane crash, which he survived. A few years later, he crashed his car off a bridge, but survived that, too. Ted Kennedy then died of a brain tumor in 2009.

The Kennedy family faced more heartbreak beyond JFK's time. David Kennedy passed away from an overdose, while Michael Kennedy met a tragic end in a skiing accident. To find out what happened to John F. Kennedy Jr. and his wife Carolyn, turn to the next page.

On July 16, 1999, John F. Kennedy Jr., along with his wife Carolyn and her sister Lauren Bessette, tragically lost their lives in a plane crash. At the time of the crash off the coast of Martha's Vineyard, the 38-year-old John F. Kennedy Jr. was piloting the plane himself. The departure had been delayed, it was nighttime, and visibility was poor. Additionally, Kennedy did not have his usual flight instructor by his side. It appears he may have lost his bearings over the ocean.

In 2020, two more tragic deaths struck the Kennedy family. JFK's great-niece, Maeve Kennedy McKean, and his son Gideon lost their lives in a swimming accident at the family's Chesapeake Bay estate, which leads into the Atlantic Ocean. Maeve and her eight-year-old son set out on a canoe to retrieve a ball from the bay, but unfortunately, they didn't return from their outing. Search teams discovered their bodies days later.