The Collegio Pittsburg's student voice since 1916
Curtis Meyer reporter
Many people, if not all know about President John F. Kennedy and the infamous video of his assassination. Some many not know of however, is the Kennedy Family Curse.
Now, the curse can be traced back from a point much further then President Kennedy’s untimely death. The curse traces back to the death of Joseph P. Kennedy, a Lieutenant in the Navy during World War II.
His father often claimed that young Joe would be the first Roman Catholic US President, which of course John Kennedy famously was. Known as a hero for his death on a top secret flight, codenamed Operation Anvil, Joe was actually an early proponent of Adolf Hitler and his critical race theory, even traveling to Germany in 1934 and praising the Fuhrer’s work.
From this ominous start came many deaths, too many to go into depth here but I will touch on some of the more important ones.
Joe died in August of 1944, and just a month later, William Cavendish is killed by a German sniper. He had just married Joe’s daughter Kathleen four months earlier.
Just four years later, Kathleen herself dies, also in a plane crash while with her new flame, the 8th Earl
Just a couple of months later, in November, the President Kennedy’s own life would be taken by Lee Harvey Oswald while he was parading though Dallas, Texas. Oswald would be killed by Jack Ruby just two days later, leading to an investigation that is still the source of great controversy.
Following this, John’s brother Robert F. Kennedy. Robert was nothing like his father or brother, often thought to be the warmest of the family. He is well known for his civil rights actions, including a heartfelt speech after the death of Martin Luther King Jr.
He was Attorney General during John’s presidency and remained so until 1964. He was known for having an intense battle with Jimmy Hoffa and the Mafia Teamsters, described as a blood feud by Hoffa himself. In 1968 Robert ran for the Democratic Primaries, defeating Eugene McCarthy, leaving only current Vice President Hubert Humphrey to claim the candidacy for the Democrats Presidential Candidate.
On the eve of his victory, however, Robert Kennedy was killed by Sirhan Sirhan, a 24 year old Palestinian. Sirhan was wrestled to the ground, but it was too late. Robert died just 26 hours later.
It wasn’t till 1984 that the next Kennedy was killed, this time by drug overdose. David Kennedy, son of Robert, was 12 years old when he watched his father get assassinated on live television. Dealing with a painkiller addiction since he was young, David died while visiting his mother in Palm Springs, FL.
Michael LeMoyne Kennedy, brother of David, died in 1997 while on a skiing trip in Aspen, Colorado. He had just split up with his life, after allegations that he had an affair with their underage babysitter. Playing football while skiing, Michael and the Kennedy family had already been admonished by the Ski Patrol.
John F. Kennedy Jr. was the next victim of the curse, died in 1999, again due to a plane crash. While flying over the Atlantic Ocean with his wife and sister in law, he became disoriented and hit the water at full speed. None survived.
In 2011, Kara Kennedy, daughter of Ted Kennedy and niece of John and Robert, died from a heart attack while exercising. She was just 51, though she had part of her lung removed due to her smoking.
A year later, Mary Kennedy died. She was the ex wife of Robert Kennedy Jr, who was the son of the assassinated Robert Kennedy. She committed suicide.
Saoirse Kennedy, granddaughter of Robert Kennedy, died in 2019 from accidental drug overdose, in the famed Kennedy Compound in Massachusetts.
Lastly, Maeve Kennedy McKean and her 8 year-0ld son disappeared one day in 2022, found dead a few days later. They had been canoeing when the wind knocked over their boat and led to their drowning. She was a granddaughter of Robert Kennedy.
Coincidence or not, there has been a large amount of untimely deaths in the Kennedy family. Ted Kennedy once famously remarked “Somebody up there doesn’t like us,” after his own close brush with death in a airplane.