Edward Moore Kennedy February 22 1932 August 25 2009 was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Massachusetts for almost 47 years from 1962 until his death in 2009 A member of the Democratic Party and the prominent political Kennedy family he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died He is ranked fifth in United States history for length of continuous service as a senator Kennedy was the younger brother of President John F Kennedy and US attorney general and US senator Robert F Kennedy He was the father of US representative Patrick J Kennedy