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Eunice Mary Kennedy Shriver (born July 10, 1921) is a member of the Kennedy family and helped to found the Special Olympics
Special Olympics

Special Olympics is an international organization created to help people with intellectual disabilities develop self-confidence, social skills and a sense of personal accomplishment....
 as a national event. Born in Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline, Massachusetts

Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Massachusetts, United States, which borders on the cities of Boston, Massachusetts and Newton, Massachusetts....
, she was the fifth of nine children of Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.
Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.

Joseph Patrick "Joe" Kennedy, Sr. was a prominent United States businessman and political figure, and the father of President of the United States John F....
 and Rose Kennedy (Rose E. Kennedy).

ce Kennedy was educated at The Convent of the Sacred Heart, Roehampton
Roehampton

Roehampton is a large district in south-west London, forming the western end of the London Borough of Wandsworth. It lies between the town of Barnes, London to the north and the large Wimbledon Common to the south....
, London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
 and in 1944 graduated from Stanford University
Stanford University

Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private university research university located in Stanford, California, California, United States....
 with a Bachelor of Science in Social Science/Social Thought, after which she went to work for the U.S.






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Eunice Mary Kennedy Shriver (born July 10, 1921) is a member of the Kennedy family and helped to found the Special Olympics
Special Olympics

Special Olympics is an international organization created to help people with intellectual disabilities develop self-confidence, social skills and a sense of personal accomplishment....
 as a national event. Born in Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline, Massachusetts

Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Massachusetts, United States, which borders on the cities of Boston, Massachusetts and Newton, Massachusetts....
, she was the fifth of nine children of Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.
Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.

Joseph Patrick "Joe" Kennedy, Sr. was a prominent United States businessman and political figure, and the father of President of the United States John F....
 and Rose Kennedy (Rose E. Kennedy).

Personal life

Eunice Kennedy was educated at The Convent of the Sacred Heart, Roehampton
Roehampton

Roehampton is a large district in south-west London, forming the western end of the London Borough of Wandsworth. It lies between the town of Barnes, London to the north and the large Wimbledon Common to the south....
, London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
 and in 1944 graduated from Stanford University
Stanford University

Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private university research university located in Stanford, California, California, United States....
 with a Bachelor of Science in Social Science/Social Thought, after which she went to work for the U.S. Department of State, in the Special War Problems division. In 1950, she became a social worker at the Penitentiary for Women in Alderson, West Virginia, and the following year she moved to Chicago to work with the House of the Good Shepherd and the Chicago Juvenile Court. On May 23, 1953 she married Robert Sargent Shriver, Jr.
Sargent Shriver

Robert Sargent Shriver, Jr. is an United States of America Democratic Party politician and activist. Known as "Sargent," Shriver is best-known as part of the Kennedy political family, the driving force behind the creation of the Peace Corps, and the Democratic Party's United States presidential election, 1972 vice President of the United St...
 at St. Patrick's Cathedral
St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York

St. Patrick's Cathedral is aEnglish Gothic architecture#Decorated Gothic Gothic Revival architecture-style Roman Catholic Church cathedral church in North America....
 in New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
. Sargent became the United States Ambassador to France
United States Ambassador to France

There has been a United States Ambassador to France since the American Revolution. The United States sent its first envoys to France in 1776, towards the end of that country's 400-year rule under the Bourbon dynasty....
 from 1968 to 1970 and the Democratic Vice Presidential candidate in 1972. They have five children: Robert Sargent Shriver III
Robert Sargent Shriver III

Robert Sargent "Bobby" Shriver III is a member of the Santa Monica City Council. He is a graduate of Yale University, where he became a member of Scroll and Key, and is a Yale Law School graduate....
 (born April 28, 1954), Maria Owings Shriver
Maria Shriver

Maria Owings Shriver is an award-winning United States journalist, author and First Lady of California. She is married to Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger, and is a member of the Kennedy family....
 (November 6, 1955), Timothy Perry Shriver
Timothy Perry Shriver

Dr. Timothy Perry Shriver is chairman of the Special Olympics....
 (August 29, 1959), Mark Kennedy Shriver
Mark Kennedy Shriver

Mark Kennedy Shriver is a United States Democratic Party politician who served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates for two consecutive terms, from 1995 to 2003....
 (February 17, 1964), and Anthony Paul Kennedy Shriver
Anthony Paul Kennedy Shriver

Anthony Paul Kennedy Shriver is an United States activist for people with intellectual disabilities. In 1989, he founded Best Buddies International, an international organization that helps people with intellectual disabilities to find employment and social opportunities....
 (July 20, 1965). Maria married Republican
Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major party contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party . It is often called the Grand Old Party or the GOP....
 Governor of California
Governor of California

The Governor of California is the highest executive authority in the state government, whose responsibilities include making annual "State of the State" addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced....
 and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American bodybuilder, actor, businessman, and Politics of the United States, currently serving as the List of Governors of California Governor of California of the state of California....
. Shriver has seventeen grandchildren, the second most of any of the children of Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and Rose Kennedy. She is second only to her brother, Robert F. Kennedy
Robert F. Kennedy

Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also called RFK, was an United States politician. He was United States Attorney General from 1961 to 1964 and a United States Senator from New York from 1965 until his Robert F....
, who has eleven children and thirty-two grandchildren.

Political career

Eunice actively campaigned for her elder brother John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States, serving from 1961 until John F....
 during the 1960 United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 presidential election, and in 1968, she helped Ann McGlone Burke
Ann McGlone Burke

Anne McGlone Burke is an Illinois Supreme Court Justice and the founder of the Special Olympics. Judge Burke was first appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court in 1995 and then was elected to the Appellate Court in 1996....
 nationalize the Special Olympics
Special Olympics

Special Olympics is an international organization created to help people with intellectual disabilities develop self-confidence, social skills and a sense of personal accomplishment....
 movement and is the only living woman whose portrait appears on a U.S.
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 coin, the 1995 commemorative Special Olympics
Special Olympics

Special Olympics is an international organization created to help people with intellectual disabilities develop self-confidence, social skills and a sense of personal accomplishment....
 silver dollar.

In 2003, Eunice supported her son-in-law Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American bodybuilder, actor, businessman, and Politics of the United States, currently serving as the List of Governors of California Governor of California of the state of California....
's successful bid for governor of California
California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
.

Charity work

A longtime advocate for children's health and disability issues, Eunice was a key founder of the Peace Corps (though many are under the mistaken impression it was JFK) (it wasn't) the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

File:US-NIH-NICHD-2008Logo.svg? The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development , created by Congress in 1962, supports and conducts research on topics related to the health of children, adults, families, and populations....
 (NICHD) in 1962, and has also help establish numerous other health care facilities and support networks throughout the country. Eunice Kennedy Shriver founded the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Center for Community of Caring in 1982. She was awarded the nation's highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Presidential Medal of Freedom

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is a decoration bestowed by the President of the United States and is, along with theequivalent Congressional Gold Medal bestowed by an act of United States Congress, the highest Civilian decorations of the United States in the United States....
, in 1984 by Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States and the 33rd Governor of California . Born in Illinois, Reagan moved to Los Angeles, California in the 1930s, where he was an actor, president of the Screen Actors Guild , and a spokesman for General Electric ....
, due to her work on behalf of those with mental retardation
Mental retardation

Mental retardation is a generalized, triarchic disorder, characterized by subaverage cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors with onset before the age of 18....
. She also received the Civitan International World Citizenship Award for her work in founding the Special Olympics. Her advocacy on this issue has also earned her other awards and recognitions, including honorary degrees from numerous universities. Her husband
Sargent Shriver

Robert Sargent Shriver, Jr. is an United States of America Democratic Party politician and activist. Known as "Sargent," Shriver is best-known as part of the Kennedy political family, the driving force behind the creation of the Peace Corps, and the Democratic Party's United States presidential election, 1972 vice President of the United St...
 and she are also opponents of abortion
Pro-life

Pro-life is a term representing a variety of perspectives and activist movements in medical ethics. It is most commonly used, especially in the media and popular discourse, to refer to opposition to abortion....
, and Eunice has been a supporter of Feminists for Life
Feminists for Life

Feminists for Life of America is the largest and most visible pro-life feminism organization. Established in 1972 and now based in Alexandria, Virginia, the organization describes itself as "shaped by the core feminist values of justice, nondiscrimination, and nonviolence." FFL asserts they continue the tradition of early American feminists...
, the Susan B. Anthony List
Susan B. Anthony List

The Susan B. Anthony List is a 501 political action committee that seeks to elect pro-life women to the United States Congress. The group has over 145,000 members as of 2008, and is primarily focused on its mission of training activists, advocating for legislation, and educating the public on pro-life legislation....
, and Democrats for Life of America
Democrats for Life of America

Democrats for Life of America is an advocacy group in the United States attempting to reshape the political left, primarily the Democratic Party , into taking a pro-life position....
.

Upon the death of her sister, Rosemary Kennedy
Rosemary Kennedy

Rose Marie Kennedy was the third child and first daughter of Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, born a year after her brother, future President of the United States John F....
, on January 7, 2005, Eunice became the eldest of the four then surviving children of Joseph and Rose Kennedy. Her younger sister Patricia Kennedy Lawford
Patricia Kennedy Lawford

Patricia "Pat" Kennedy Lawford was an Social structure of the United States#Upper class socialite, the sixth child of Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy....
 died on September 17, 2006. Eunice has suffered several health setbacks in recent years, and on November 18, 2007, she was admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital

Massachusetts General Hospital is a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and a biomedical research facility in Boston, Massachusetts.It is owned and operated by Partners HealthCare ....
. She spent several weeks at the hospital . On January 28, 2008, she was present at American University
American University

American University is a Private university United Methodist Church-affiliated research university in Washington, D.C., United States, the main campus of which comes to a corner at the intersection of Nebraska and Massachusetts Avenues at Ward Circle, straddling the Spring Valley, Washington, D.C., Wesley Heights, and American University Par...
 when Senator Ted Kennedy
Ted Kennedy

Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy is the Senior Senator United States Senate from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party . In office since November 1962, Kennedy is the list of current United States Senators by seniority member of the Senate, after President pro tempore of the United States Senate Robert Byrd of West Virginia....
 announced his endorsement of Barack Obama
Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the List of Presidents of the United States and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office....
's presidential campaign .

In 2008, Congress changed NICHD’s name to the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development.

External links