Nasaw - The Patriarch: The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy

ALSO BY DAVID NASAW

Andrew Carnegie

The Chief: The Life of William Randolph Hearst

Going Out: The Rise and Fall of Public Amusements

Children of the City: At Work and at Play

Schooled to Order: A Social History of Public Schooling in the United States

THE PENGUIN PRESS

Published by the Penguin Group

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First published in 2012 by The Penguin Press,

a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

Copyright David Nasaw, 2012

All rights reserved

Photograph credits appear .

Frontis photo Bettmann/CORBIS

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Nasaw, David.

The patriarch : the remarkable life and turbulent times of Joseph P. Kennedy / David Nasaw.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-101-59591-6

1. Kennedy, Joseph P. (Joseph Patrick), 1888-1969. 2. AmbassadorsUnited StatesBiography. 3. PoliticiansUnited StatesBiography. 4. BusinesspeopleUnited StatesBiography. 5. Kennedy family. I. Title.

E748.K376N37 2012

973.9092dc23

[B]

2012027315

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the authors rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

CONTENTS

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Joseph Patrick Kennedy (18881969, m. 1914)

Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald Kennedy (18901995, m. 1914), wife of Joseph P. Kennedy

Children and Childrens Spouses

Joseph Patrick Kennedy, Jr. (19151944)

John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Jack (19171963, m. 1953)

Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy (19291994, m. 1953), wife of John Kennedy

Rose Marie Kennedy, Rosemary (19182005)

Kathleen Agnes Kennedy Hartington, Kick (19201948, m. 1944)

William Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington, Billy Hartington (19171944, m. 1944), eldest son of the 10th Duke of Devonshire, husband of Kick Kennedy

Eunice Mary Kennedy Shriver (19212009, m. 1953)

Robert Sargent Shriver, Sargent Shriver or Sarge (19152011, m. 1953), husband of Eunice Kennedy

Patricia Kennedy, Pat (19242006, m. 1954)

Peter Lawford (19231984, m. 1954), husband of Patricia Kennedy

Robert Francis Kennedy, Bobby (19251968, m. 1950)

Ethel Skakel Kennedy (1928, m. 1950), wife of Robert Kennedy

Jean Ann Kennedy Smith (1928, m. 1956)

Stephen Edward Smith, Steve (19271990, m. 1956), husband of Jean Kennedy

Edward Moore Kennedy, Ted (19322009, m. 1958, 1992)

Joan Bennett Kennedy (1936, m. 1958), first wife of Edward Kennedy

Joseph P. Kennedys Parents

Patrick Joseph Kennedy, P.J. (18581929, m. 1887), father of Joseph P. Kennedy

Mary Augusta Hickey Kennedy (18571923, m. 1887), mother of Joseph P. Kennedy

Joseph P. Kennedys Paternal Grandparents

Patrick Kennedy (ca. 18231858, m. 1849), grandfather

Bridget Murphy Kennedy (18211888, m. 1849), grandmother

Joseph P. Kennedys Parents-in-Law

John Francis Fitzgerald, Honey Fitz (18631950), father-in-law of Kennedy, mayor of Boston (19061908 and 19101914)

Mary Josephine Hannon Fitzgerald, Josie (18651964), mother-in-law of Kennedy, wife of John Francis Fitzgerald

Dean Acheson, assistant secretary of state (19411945), under secretary of state (1945), secretary of state (19491953)

Robert S. Allen, journalist, co-columnist with Drew Pearson, Washington Merry-Go-Round

Joseph Alsop, Washington columnist

Nancy Astor, Lady Astor, member of Parliament (19191945), Cliveden set

Waldorf Astor, Lord Astor, politician, newspaper owner

Bernard Baruch, businessman, financier, Democratic Party adviser

Lord Beaverbrook, Max Aitken, newspaper owner, minister of aircraft production (19401941), minister of supply (19411942), Kennedy friend

Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle, Jr., Tony, ambassador to Poland (19371943), ambassador to governments in exile (19411943), U.S. Army in Europe (19441955)

Kirk LeMoyne Billings, Lem, JFK friend

John Boettiger, husband of Anna Roosevelt, editor of Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Benjamin C. Bradlee, journalist and editor of Washington Post, Newsweek

Louis Brandeis, Supreme Court justice (19161939), Roosevelt adviser

Bart Brickley, Boston lawyer, Kennedy friend

William Christian Bullitt, Jr., ambassador to France (19361940)

John Burns, law professor, Massachusetts judge, SEC general counsel, Kennedy attorney and friend

Rab Butler, under-secretary of state for foreign affairs (19381941)

James Byrnes, senator from South Carolina (19311941), Supreme Court justice (19411942), Economic Stabilization Office (19421943), secretary of state (19451947)

Sir Alexander Cadogan, permanent under-secretary for foreign affairs (19381946)

Sir James Calder, head of Distillers Company, Kennedy friend

Boake Carter, radio commentator, Kennedy friend

Father John Cavanaugh, president of Notre Dame (19461952), Kennedy friend

Neville Chamberlain, prime minister (19371940)

Winston Churchill, first lord of the Admiralty (19391940), prime minister (19401945)

Count Galeazzo Ciano, Italian minister of foreign affairs (19361943), Mussolinis son-in-law

Clark Clifford, Washington lawyer, head of JFK transition team

Ralph Coghlan, editor of St. Louis Post-Dispatch, JFK campaign adviser

Benjamin V. Cohen, attorney, New Deal adviser

Duff Cooper, first lord of the Admiralty (19371938), minister of information (19401941)

Thomas Gardiner Corcoran, attorney, Felix Frankfurter protg, New Deal and Lyndon Johnson adviser

Robert Coughlin, collaborator, ghostwriter for Rose Fitzgerald Kennedys Times to Remember

James Michael Curley, mayor of Boston for several terms, representative from Massachusetts (19111914, 19431947), governor of Massachusetts (19351937)

Guy Currier, Massachusetts legislator, lawyer, lobbyist

Archbishop Richard Cushing, archbishop of Boston (19441970), cardinal (19581970)

Mark Dalton, JFK campaign manager (1946, 1952)

Russell Davenport, managing editor of Fortune magazine

Marion Davies, actress, mistress of William Randolph Hearst

Eddie (E. B.) Derr, Kennedy business associate

Paul A. Dever, candidate for lieutenant governor of Massachusetts (1946), governor of Massachusetts (19491953)