Edward M. Kennedy (born 1932), youngest brother of President John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy, entered the U.S. Senate at age 30 and steadily gained influence as he continued to win re-election. Largely because of the glamorous "Kennedy legacy," he was considered a potential Democratic presidential nominee starting in 1968.

Edward M. Kennedy was born February 22, 1932, fourth son and last of nine children of Joseph P. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. Because of his wealthy family's frequent shuttling among Boston, New York, and Palm Beach (and--while his father was ambassador to London--England), Kennedy attended several different private schools before enrolling in Milton Academy in 1946. Upon graduation from Milton in 1950 he enrolled at Harvard--like his older brothers before him. At the end of his freshman year, however, he was expelled for having another student take a Spanish final examination in his stead. Kennedy then enlisted for a two-year stint in the...