Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy Dies

Ted Kennedy with Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. (Wikimedia Images)"]
The youngest of the Kennedy brothers, Edward Kennedy, has lost his battle with cancer. The 77-year-old Senator was suffering from a malignant glioma, a type of brain cancer that affects an average of 9,000 Americans yearly.

The Massachusetts Senator served nine times on the Senate and was the most senior member. He lost his bid for the presidency in 1980. As the runner-up in a two-man race for the Democratic nomination in 1980, his failed candidacy with a speech that had many spectators in tears at Madison Square Garden.

Here, Kennedy famously said: "For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die."

In a statement to reporters, Barack Obama, who was vacationing on Martha's Vineyard, said Kennedy was one of the "most accomplished Americans" in history — and a man whose work in Congress helped give millions new opportunities. "Including myself," he added.

Edward is the last surviving son of America's glamorous political Kennedy clan. The youngest of four sons, Kennedy became the family patriarch after his three brothers were killed before their time.