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Joseph Patrick "Joe" Kennedy, Sr. (September 6, 1888 – November 18, 1969) was an American businessman, investor, and politician. Kennedy was the husband of Rose Kennedy. Their children included President John F. Kennedy (1917–1963), Attorney General and Senator Robert F. Kennedy (1925–1968), and longtime Senator Ted Kennedy (1932–2009). He was a leading member of the Democratic Party and of the Irish Catholic community. He was the inaugural Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and later directed the Maritime Commission. Kennedy served as the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom from 1938 until late 1940, including the early part of World War II. Born to a political family in East Boston, Massachusetts, Kennedy embarked on a career in business and investing, first making a large fortune as a stock market and commodity investor and later rolled over the profits by investing in real estate and a wide range of business industries across the United States.〔("Joseph P Kennedy" ), John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Retrieved January 7, 2012.〕 During World War I, he was an assistant general manager of a Boston area Bethlehem Steel shipyard, through which he developed a friendship with Franklin D. Roosevelt, then Assistant Secretary of the Navy. In the 1920s Kennedy made huge profits from reorganizing and refinancing several Hollywood studios, ultimately merging several acquisitions into Radio-Keith-Orpheum (RKO) studios.〔Richard J. Whalen, ''The Founding Father'', 1964.〕 After Prohibition of alcohol ended in 1933, Kennedy consolidated an even larger fortune when he traveled to Scotland with Roosevelt's son James to negotiate contracts for distribution rights for Scotch whisky. His company, Somerset Importers, became the exclusive American agent for Gordon's Gin and Dewar's Scotch. In addition, Kennedy purchased spirits-importation rights from Schenley Industries, a firm in Canada.〔 He owned the largest office building in the country, Chicago's Merchandise Mart, giving his family an important base in that city and an alliance with the Irish-American political leadership there. Kennedy allowed surgeons to perform a lobotomy on his daughter Rosemary Kennedy in 1941. Various reasons for the operation have been given, but it left her permanently incapacitated.〔 〕〔 〕 His term as ambassador and his political ambitions ended abruptly during the Battle of Britain in November 1940, with the publishing of his controversial remarks suggesting that "Democracy is finished in England. It may be here, (the US )."〔''Boston Sunday Globe'', November 10, 1940.〕 Kennedy resigned under pressure shortly afterwards. In later years, Kennedy worked behind the scenes to continue building the financial and political fortunes of the Kennedy family. After a disabling stroke in 1961, Kennedy developed aphasia and lost all power of speech, but remained mentally intact. He was confined to a wheelchair until his death in 1969. ==Background and education== Joseph Patrick Kennedy was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He was the elder son of businessman and politician Patrick Joseph "P. J." Kennedy and Mary Augusta Hickey. He had a younger brother Francis (who died young), and two younger sisters, Mary and Margaret. All four of Joe's grandparents had immigrated to Massachusetts in the 1840s to escape the Irish famine. He was born into a highly sectarian society, where Irish Catholics were excluded by upper-class Boston Brahmins. Boston Irish became thus active in the Democratic Party, including P. J. and numerous relatives. P. J. Kennedy's home was comfortable, thanks to his successful saloon business, investments, and an influential role in local politics. His mother encouraged Joe to attend the Boston Latin School, where Kennedy was a below average scholar but was popular among his classmates, winning election as class president and playing on the school baseball team. Kennedy followed in the footsteps of older cousins by attending Harvard College. He focused on becoming a social leader, working energetically to gain admittance to the prestigious Hasty Pudding Club. While at Harvard he joined the Delta Upsilon International fraternity and played on the baseball team, but was blackballed from the Porcellian Club. In 1937, he received an honorary degree in Doctor of Laws from Oglethorpe University.〔(【引用サイトリンク】publisher=Oglethorpe University )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr.」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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