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After being lobotomized in 1941 at 23 years old, Rosemary Kennedy would spend the rest of her life institutionalized and isolated from her family.

.... In the article, Eunice described Rosemary, the third child of Joe Kennedy Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald, as "slower to crawl, slower to walk and speak than her two bright brothers." As time went by, the supposedly retarded Rosemary "couldn't keep up" in "social competition," and, by the age of 22, "was becoming increasingly irritable and difficult." Physicians, Eunice wrote, were unanimous in declaring that Rosemary would have to be institutionalized, and so, with supposed sighs all around, she was bunged up in a nice Catholic "home." The modern reader is shocked to discover that this "candid" article makes no...

Born slightly retarded, Rosemary Kennedy learned to read and write, and through her early 20s friends described her as bubbly and personable. Her famous family, however, feared that Rosemary might get pregnant, catch a venereal disease, or otherwise embarrass the Kennedys. To prevent this, she became one of the first Americans to undergo a prefrontal lobotomy, having the frontal lobes of her brain surgically scraped off in 1942. This resulted in Ms. Kennedy's paralysis, incoherence, and incontinence. She was institutionalized for the rest of her life, rarely mentioned by the Kennedys or by those who consider the family American royalty.

The Kennedy family tragedy that was Rosemary Kennedy's life became the inspiration for a movement that improved life for tens of thousands of mentally retarded Americans, advocates said. Kennedy, the oldest sister of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy [related, bio] and the late President John F. Kennedy, died Friday at 86 in a Wisconsin hospital near the facility where she spent most of her life. At age 23, a lobotomy was performed on her reportedly on medical advice that it would calm the mildly retarded woman's behavior and mood swings that her father feared would create problems for her and embarrass...

Rosemary Kennedy, the first lady of the Special Olympics, died yesterday in a Wisconsin hospital with her brother, U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy [related, bio], at her side. ``Rosie'' was 86. In yet another footnote in the Bay State clan's tragic history, the eldest sister of the late President John F. Kennedy was lobotomized at 23 when doctors advised her father that it would help his daughter and calm her hard to handle mood swings. Joseph Kennedy had feared her mental retardation would cloud his political dreams for his sons. ``Rosemary was a woman, and there was a dread fear...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Rosemary Kennedy, the oldest sister of President John F. Kennedy and the inspiration for the Special Olympics, died Friday. She was 86.

Retarded Kennedy Sister Dies at 86 Jan 7, 11:39 PM (ET) By LOLITA C. BALDOR (AP) The Kennedy family children are seen in a boat in this undated photo. From left, are: Eunice, Jack,... Full Image WASHINGTON (AP) - Rosemary Kennedy, the oldest sister of President John F. Kennedy and the inspiration for the Special Olympics, died Friday. She was 86. Kennedy, the third child of Rose and Joseph Kennedy, was born mentally retarded and underwent a lobotomy when she was 23. She lived most of her life in a Jefferson, Wis., institution, the St. Coletta School for Exceptional Children....

WASHINGTON -- Rosemary Kennedy, a sister of John F. Kennedy who was born mentally retarded and lived most of her life in an institution after undergoing a lobotomy, died Friday, her family said. She was 86. Kennedy, the inspiration for the Special Olympics spearheaded by the Kennedy family, had been a patient since 1949 at St. Coletta School for Exceptional Children in Jefferson, Wis. She was the third child and first daughter of Joseph and Rose Kennedy, born a year after her brother became president. In 1941, Joseph Kennedy, worried his daughter's mild mental retardation would lead her into situations...