Rose Marie Kennedy

Rosemary Kennedy
Rosemary Kennedy in 1938, three years before her lobotomy, ready to be presented at Court.
Born	Rose Marie Kennedy (1918-09-13)September 13, 1918 Brookline, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	January 7, 2005(2005-01-07) (aged 86) Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin, U.S.
Resting place	Holyhood Cemetery
Education	Sacred Heart Convent
Parent(s)	Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy
Family	Kennedy

Rose Marie "Rosemary" Kennedy (September 13, 1918 – January 7, 2005) was the oldest daughter born to Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, and was a sister of President John F. Kennedy, and Senators Robert F. Kennedy and Ted Kennedy.

Rosemary experienced mental disabilities, and displayed less academic and sporting potential than her siblings; however, her disabilities were carefully concealed from the public by her prominent family. In her early young adult years, she also had behavioral problems. Her father arranged one of the first prefrontal lobotomies for her at the age of 23, but it failed and left her permanently incapacitated. Rosemary spent the rest of her life in an institution in Jefferson, Wisconsin, with limited contact with her family. Her condition may have inspired her sister, Eunice, to initiate the Special Olympics in 1962.

Rose Marie Kennedy was born at her parents' home in Brookline, Massachusetts. She was the third child and first daughter of Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald. She was named after her mother, and commonly called "Rosemary" or "Rosie." During her birth, the doctor was not immediately available and the nurse ordered Rose Kennedy to keep her legs closed, forcing the baby’s head to stay in the birth canal for two hours. The action resulted in a harmful loss of oxygen. As Rosemary began to grow, her parents noticed she was not reaching the basic development steps an infant or a toddler normally reach at a certain month or year. At two years old, she had a hard time sitting up, crawling, learning to walk and later on feeding herself.