Surrounded by family, Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy died Tuesday at home in Massachusetts. He was 77.

Kennedy, who has served in the Senate since 1962 was known as a “lion” of the chamber and a steadfast liberal who was voted earlier this year by his colleagues as that chamber’s most bipartisan member.

Kennedy had been struggling with brain cancer for a year and had been absent from the Senate since April, a fact that colleague, and former presidential contender, Sen. John McCain, said on Sunday he believed was making it more difficult for lawmakers to find consensus on health care reform. Indeed, Kennedy has now passed without realizing what he considered “the cause of my life,” reforming the U.S. health care system.

A statement from Kennedy’s family and those from his colleagues can be found here.

The Boston Globe has a nice obituary here.

This article appears in August 21 • 2009.

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