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01
In 1965, a grieving Robert F. Kennedy climbed Mount Kennedy, a peak named for his brother John. He reached the summit ahead of the climbing team, the first person to stand on top.
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02
Robert F. Kennedy matched actor Richard Burton sonnet for sonnet in a Shakespeare recitation contest. Burton won only by quoting a sonnet backwards, a feat Kennedy could not match.
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03
Unlike his brother John’s fragile health, Robert F. Kennedy had robust health and enjoyed hiking and kayaking.
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04
The RICO Act of 1970, used against organized crime, stems from Robert F. Kennedy’s concept from his time as Attorney General.
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05
He and his wife Ethel had 11 children: Kathleen, Joseph, Robert Jr., Courtney, Michael, Kerry, Christopher, Max, Douglas, Rory, and David, who predeceased him.
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06
The Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, where Kennedy was shot, has been demolished.
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07
Kennedy and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson shared a mutual dislike, intensifying after Johnson became president.
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08
Ethel Kennedy was three months pregnant with Rory when Robert died in 1968.
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09
Only he among the Kennedy sons abstained from drinking and smoking until age 21, earning a $1,000 reward from his father. He kept no ashtrays in his home.
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10
Andy Williams sang the Battle Hymn of the Republic at Kennedy’s funeral and later named his son Bobby in Kennedy’s honor.
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11
He and Huey Long are the only two sitting U.S. senators assassinated.
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12
During his 1968 presidential campaign, Kennedy grew close to actor Warren Beatty, who later became a gun control advocate after Kennedy’s death.
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13
He earned a bachelor’s degree in government from Harvard University in 1948.
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14
Kennedy died on the same day as Randolph Churchill, Winston Churchill’s only son.
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15
His grave at Arlington National Cemetery lies about 100 yards from his brother John’s grave.
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16
As senator, Kennedy hired Jeff Greenfield as a speechwriter, a role Greenfield held until Kennedy’s death.
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17
He was the grandson of Congressman John F. Fitzgerald.
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18
During the Cuban Missile Crisis, Kennedy initially favored a full-scale invasion of Cuba, a fact he omitted from his memoirs.
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19
On the 1968 campaign trail, Kennedy unwound with a bowl of chocolate ice cream and a Heineken beer.
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20
He was close friends with actor Robert Vaughn.
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21
Actors portraying Kennedy on screen include Steven Culp in Thirteen Days 2000, Linus Roache in RFK 2002, and Dave Fraunces in Bobby 2006.
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22
He resigned as Attorney General in 1964 to run for the Senate from New York, despite criticism he was a carpetbagger and ineligible to vote in the state. He narrowly won and served until his death.
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23
He served as Attorney General under President John F. Kennedy and resigned in 1964 after his brother’s death.
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24
A wax replica of Kennedy’s head from the defunct Hollywood Wax Museum sold for $200 on eBay in May 2006.
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25
Kennedy was of Irish descent.
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26
A 15-cent U.S. commemorative stamp featuring Kennedy appeared on January 12, 1979.
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27
He was the ex-brother-in-law of actor Peter Lawford.
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28
He was the uncle of Maria Shriver and former uncle-in-law of Arnold Schwarzenegger.
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29
He graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1951.
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30
He served as a U.S. Senator from New York from January 1965 until June 6, 1968.
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31
He was brother to John F. Kennedy, Ted Kennedy, and six other siblings.
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32
On June 5, 1968, his friend John Frankenheimer drove him to the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, where a gunman later shot him.
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33
Sirhan Sirhan, Kennedy’s assassin, is serving a life sentence at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego County.
