Some rumors say that the Kennedy family is cursed. Is it really true?
The Internet is full of wonders, some true, some false, and some worth taking a closer look at. For example, many people, including a lot of historians, believe that the Kennedy family is cursed. After being through a lot of misfortunes like two assassinations, four plane crashes, a skiing accident, a lobotomy, and two overdoses, we have all the reasons to believe that they were…well damned.
Despite their many challenges, they have also ascended to higher social levels, and the next generation of Kennedys is becoming more prominent. Will they face the same horrors as their ancestors, or will they be able to have a better and quieter future? Well, we’re not fortune tellers, so we can’t know these things, but in today’s article, we will get deeper into the subject and try to debunk this rumor that the Kennedy family is cursed.
These are just a few of the numerous tragedies that have happened to the Kennedys.
Joe Kennedy Sr. started the “curse” with his felonies
Many people think that Joe Kennedy Sr., the head of the Kennedy family, had high standards for his kids and aspired to have the ideal family. As a modest man who climbed a tall ladder to become an ambassador to Britain and earned millions as a bank president, being a Hollywood studio owner, and liqueur salesman, he aspired to set a great example for them.
The Kennedy patriarch, according to conspiracy theorists, engaged in illegal activities such as bootlegging to help grow the fortune that ultimately financed the Kennedy family’s subsequent businesses. Maybe this was the dark beginning of a long chain of unfortunate events…
Rosemary went through a gruesome lobotomy in 1941
It is hard to believe, but very few people knew about Rosemary’s story, and this was due to her parents’ concerted effort to hide the fact that she was intellectually disabled and suffered from seizures and tantrums. In the early twentieth century, medicine wasn’t as evolved as it is now, so it was very hard to diagnose a disease like hers. Additionally, there was a common stigma against those who had physical or intellectual disabilities.
That’s why Rosemary was introduced at Buckingham Palace with her sister Kathleen to dismiss any suspicions that she was different. The Kennedys found out about a relatively new for that time experimental procedure called lobotomy while searching for treatments for Rosemary. Although this brain surgery was not yet approved by the American Medical Association, it was said to help patients who were depressed and aggressive.
Mr. Kennedy made a setup for Rosemary to be lobotomized in November 1941. Unfortunately, the operation failed, and soon after the procedure, Rosemary was institutionalized because she had lost the majority of her ability to walk and speak.
Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. died during a secret bombing campaign
The chain of unfortunate events that prove the Kennedy family is cursed continues with Joseph’s tragic end. Joe Jr. dedicated his entire life to preparing for political office. His grandfather, who was Boston’s mayor at the time of his birth, had told the media that he would one day be president of the United States.
At the end of his studies, he received a trophy for being the best student in both scholarship and sportsmanship because he was an outstanding student. Before starting his final year at Harvard Law, Joe Jr. volunteered to fly for the Navy during World War II.
In this secret service, explosives were flown over enemy territory, ignited, and then dropped to safety. However, both pilots in the aircraft were killed when the explosives were mistakenly detonated too soon. He was only 29 years old.
Kathleen Kennedy also died in a plane crash at the age of 28
Among all the tragedies that happened to the Kennedys after Joe’s tragic death, Kathleen also died in a plane crash. Would this be a coincidence? Conspirationists beg to differ. Kathleen was the favorite of the family, and her death shocked everybody, especially her mother, who never recovered properly after it. In 1948, she planned to go and visit her father in Paris.
She and Peter were traveling on a ten-seat plane to Cannes two days before the scheduled meeting when they pulled over to refuel close to Paris. Despite the severe weather, Peter demanded that the plane depart immediately, even if the pilot insisted that it was unsafe to take off. Unfortunately, this stubbornness ended Kathleen, Peter, the pilot, and a navigator’s lives instantly when the plane crashed.
Since Joe Jr. passed away, it was John’s duty to continue the legacy but…
He started his political career with the help of Joe Sr., who used his connections to ask for favors and run a successful presidential campaign that cost thousands of dollars. The Kennedy family was forever recognized as American royalty after John F. Kennedy was elected president of the United States in 1960.
However, after a 15-year hiatus, the “curse” struck again and his life was cut short, and he was only 46 years old when he was shot dead in 1963. J.F. Kennedy was the youngest American president to die.
In 1964 Ted Kennedy almost died in a plane crash
We can say that this was pure luck because the other two people who were in the same plane with him were killed by he survived. With a couple of bad injuries, but alive. A couple of years later, survived another near-death experience in Chappaquiddick, Massachusetts. After the accident, he publicly admits that he may start to believe that the Kennedy family is cursed.
After all these tragedies came one after another, Robert Kennedy started questioning this “curse” the family might be under. After studying the ancient Greek tragedies during his schooling, he started to make connections between his family’s problems and the well-known fables. Was there some truth to this, or was it just another myth? No one will ever know.
…in 1968 Robert Kennedy was assassinated while campaigning for the presidency
The curse of the Kennedys followed the one who started the theory and parallels to the Athenian drama, and in 1968 Robert Kennedy was assassinated. Is that another coincidence? Nah. He was shot shortly after winning the Democratic presidential primary in California. After being hit, he asked a busboy if anyone else was okay. Unfortunately, his life was cut short, and soon after she got shot, he passed away. He was only 42 years old.
In 1984 and 1997 Robert’s sons die tragically
Following the 1968 assassination of his father, David battled addiction for years. After all, he was only 13 when his father passed away, and it was indeed shocking to see this on television. At the age of 28, he passed away from an overdose in a Florida hotel.
Another of Robert Kennedy’s sons, Michael Kennedy, lost his life in a skiing accident in Colorado in 1997.
Twenty years later, the curse struck again: Saoirse Kennedy Hill died of an overdose
According to The New York Times, Saoirse overdosed and died at the family’s compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. She had previously written about her battle with depression, which she described as “deep bouts of sadness that felt like a heavy boulder on my chest.” She was only 22 years old when she passed away.
If you’re interested in learning more about this topic, I recommend the book The Kennedy Curse: Why Tragedy Has Haunted America’s First Family for 150 Years by Edward Klein. It’s available on Amazon for $12.49 for the hardcover edition.
Do the Kennedys themselves believe that the Kennedy family is cursed?
Well, that’s hard to say since neither of them has spoken too much publicly about this. They are widely known for their secrets, well hidden from the media and the public eye, even though there were so many conspiracy theories about them.
For example, the 35th President was occasionally on the verge of death due to his poor health, every aspect of JFK’s chronic back injuries and ongoing physical discomfort while he sat in the Oval Office only became public knowledge in recent months.
And let’s not forget that all of the information regarding Rosemary Kennedy’s life has only recently come to light, particularly the fact that her father’s choice to have her go through a disastrously unsuccessful experimental brain surgery was the only thing that ended her life.
So what do you think about these things? Is that really something going on in this family, or is it just bad luck at its finest? Tell us in the comments section below. We would like to hear your thoughts on this.
Over the years, we wrote a lot of articles based on former President Kennedy himself, and your feedback was overwhelming. Thanks so much for being a loyal reader of Historical Files! We truly appreciate your support and if you enjoy what you read, we’d love for you to share it with your friends. Your help means a lot to us! And before leaving, make sure you also check out another Kennedy-related article from our page: John F. Kennedy: 6 Incredible Facts Few People Know.
