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Feb. 22, 1932
Edward Moore Kennedy is born the youngest of nine children to Joseph and Rose Kennedy.
1962
Wins special election to fill brother John's U.S. Senate seat.
1965
Kennedy shepherds one of his first major pieces of legislation, the Immigration Act of 1965, through the Senate.
1972
Among other legislative efforts during this period, Kennedy starts to focus on health and education issues, and helps support initiatives like Title IX, which equalized opportunities for female students.
1980
Challenges incumbent President Jimmy Carter in the Democratic primary, but loses. In his convention speech, he ends with: "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."
1982
Kennedy is a chief sponsor of the Voting Rights Act Amendments.
1987
Kennedy gives an impassioned Senate floor speech opposing conservative Robert Bork for the Supreme Court. The Senate ultimately rejected Bork's nomination. During this year, he also supports a minimum wage increase and welfare-to-jobs programs.
1990
Helps shepherd the Americans with Disabilities Act into law.
1994
Helps broker the passage of the Family and Medical Leave Act.
1996
Kennedy is one of the sponsors of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which creates opportunities for health insurance coverage for people who change jobs or lose their jobs.
1997
With Sen. Orrin Hatch, Kennedy leads an effort to enact the Children's Health Insurance Program.
2002
Helps pass President George W. Bush's No Child Left Behind education reform law.
Aug. 25, 2008
Addresses Democratic convention delegates with homage to his brother's presidency: "Our people answered his call and rose to the challenge, and today an American flag still marks the surface of the moon. Yes, we are all Americans. This is what we do. We reach the moon. We scale the heights. I know it. I've seen it. I've lived it. And we can do it again."
Learn more about Kennedy's life at NPR: Edward M. Kennedy: A Life of Service
---- Compiled from wire reports and other media sources
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