Rosemary Kennedy, born Rose Marie Kennedy on September 13, 1918, was the third child and eldest daughter of Joseph and Rose Kennedy. She experienced learning difficulties and was slower to crawl, walk, and speak than her brothers. Despite her intellectual disabilities, Rosemary participated in most family activities.
In 1941, at the age of 23, Rosemary underwent a lobotomy, a surgical procedure that was believed to help calm her and prevent her sometimes violent mood swings. The lobotomy was authorized by her father, Joseph Kennedy, who thought it would benefit her. However, the operation was a disaster, leaving Rosemary with the capabilities of a two-year-old and permanently incapacitated.
Following the lobotomy, Rosemary was separated from her family, and her parents did not visit her for many years. Her siblings were not aware of her whereabouts, and the lobotomy was kept hidden from the family for 20 years.
After her fathers death in 1969, the Kennedys gradually involved Rosemary in family life again. She was occasionally taken to visit relatives and her childhood home on Cape Cod. By that time, Rosemary had learned to walk again, but with a limp, and she never regained the ability to speak clearly. Her arm was also palsied.
Rosemary Kennedy died from natural causes on January 7, 2005, at the Fort Atkinson Memorial Hospital in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, at the age of 86. Her siblings Jean, Eunice, Patricia, and brother Ted were with her at the time of her death. Eunice Shriver, in her eulogy, said that Rosemary had left a legacy that was long and deep, inspiring her own work with Special Olympics.
