Rosemary Kennedy (September 13, 1918 – January 7, 2005) was the third child and first daughter of Joseph Patrick Kennedy, Sr. and Rose Elizabeth Kennedy née Fitzgerald, born a year after her brother, future U.S. President John F. Kennedy. She underwent a lobotomy at age 23, after which she was mentally incapacitated for the rest of her life.
She was born at her parents' home in Brookline, Massachusetts, and christened Rose Marie Kennedy but commo...
more
Rosemary Kennedy (September 13, 1918 – January 7, 2005) was the third child and first daughter of Joseph Patrick Kennedy, Sr. and Rose Elizabeth Kennedy née Fitzgerald, born a year after her brother, future U.S. President John F. Kennedy. She underwent a lobotomy at age 23, after which she was mentally incapacitated for the rest of her life.
She was born at her parents' home in Brookline, Massachusetts, and christened Rose Marie Kennedy but commonly called Rosemary. To her family and friends, she was known as Rosie.
Kennedy has been described as being a shy child whose I.Q. tests reportedly indicated a moderate mental retardation, but this is a question of some controversy. Diaries written by her in the late 1930s, and published in the 1980s, reveal a young woman whose life was filled with outings to the opera, tea dances, dress fittings, and other social interests:
She also was presented to King George VI and Queen Elizabeth during her father's service as the American Ambassador to...
less
