The Kennedy family

The Kennedy family (of Irish descent) is prominent in American politics and government. The first Kennedy to reside in America was farmer Patrick Kennedy (1823–1858) and his wife. Their son Patrick Joseph Kennedy, born in 1858, served five consecutive one-year terms in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, followed by three two-year terms in the state Senate. His son Joe Kennedy, Sr. (1888 –1969) was 44th U.S. ambassador to the UK, and his grandson John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917 –1963) served as the 35th president of the United States from January 1961 until he was assassinated in November 1963.