Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Kennedy attended parochial schools, Calvert Hall College, and Polytechnic Institute.

He was the son of Ambrose J. Kennedy Sr., a saloonkeeper and guard at the Maryland State Penitentiary, and Annie McDonald, a homemaker.

He was an unsuccessful candidate for election to the Maryland House of Delegates in 1918, and served as member of the Baltimore City Council from 1922 to 1926.

He resumed the brokerage and insurance business in Baltimore, as well as serving as a member of the State Unemployment Compensation Board from June 1943 to September 1945.

After leaving office in the mid-1950s, he worked as a broker for the Poor, Bowen, Bartlett and Kennedy insurance company established by his father.

"KELLY NAMED PRESIDENT OF CITY COUNCIL: Park Board Member Is Elected After Curran-Pollack Coup".

This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress