Patrick Joseph Kennedy

Life & Legacy

Patrick Joseph Kennedy (January 14, 1858 – May 18, 1929) was an American businessman and Democratic Party politician from Boston. He was the earliest member of the Kennedy family to take an active involvement in politics and became a major figure in local and state politics. Through his son Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.'s marriage to Rose Fitzgerald, a daughter of his political contemporary John F. Fitzgerald, he was the paternal grandfather of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Ted Kennedy.
Kennedy was born in Boston in 1858. After cholera killed his father and brother, he was the only surviving male in his family. He started work at age fourteen and became a successful saloon proprietor and whiskey importer. Eventually, he had major interests in coal and banking as well.
Kennedy was a major figure in the Democratic Party in Boston. Though he served in both the Massachusetts House of Representatives and the state Senate, he preferred to play a behind-the-scenes role as a party boss.