The night he was shot at the Ambassador Hotel, Kennedy along with two siblings, Kathleen and Robert Jr., were being flown to Los Angeles aboard one of the planes in the Secret Service's presidential fleet".

[8] He returned to school after a major car accident which occurred in 1973 and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Massachusetts Boston in 1976.

[9] While on hiatus from college, he worked for several months as part of a federally funded program to combat and treat tuberculosis in the African American community in San Francisco, California.

[8] In 1979, Kennedy founded Citizens Energy Corporation, a non-profit organization to provide discounted heating oil to low-income and elderly families in Massachusetts.

[10] According to author J. Randy Taraborrelli, Kennedy started the venture "to alleviate the burden of heating bills for the poor during the oil crisis of that year.

[35] In 1991 Kennedy boycotted a speech to the U.S. Congress by the United Kingdom's Queen Elizabeth II "in protest to the British occupation in Northern Ireland.

"[36] In March 1998, following a year of family troubles that included the skiing death of his brother Michael LeMoyne Kennedy, he announced that he planned to retire from the U.S. House, citing "a new recognition of our own vulnerabilities and the vagaries of life.

"[37] An editorial in The Boston Globe observed that "Kennedy has remained steadfast in his political life to issues and constituencies no poll would have led him to: the poor, the homeless, disadvantaged children, and others swamped in the current tide of prosperity."

In his final speech on the U.S. House floor, Kennedy delivered "an impassioned plea for unity and forgiveness"[38] in the midst of Congressional debate regarding the proposed articles of impeachment of President Bill Clinton.

[51] In 2019, Citizens Energy announced the completion of one of the largest Low-Income Community Shared Solar projects in the country, funded by its investment in the Sunrise PowerLink Transmission line.

[52] Totaling 30 megawatts, the record-breaking California project will provide $500 in energy savings to 12,000 low-income families each year.

[53] Since returning to Citizens Energy, Kennedy also has sought to influence energy-related public policy, challenging the Bush administration to invest in energy conservation and efficiency and renewable energy,[54] encouraging Congress to fully fund federal heating assistance programs,[55] proposing that oil-consuming countries work together to balance oil prices against Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) manipulation,[56] and calling for the federal government and major oil companies to use portions of royalties from oil and gas extracted from federal lands and waters to help low-income families with the high price of energy.

[69] In 1993, a Boston Globe poll showed Kennedy within one percentage point of popular incumbent William Weld in a hypothetical gubernatorial match-up, prompting prominent state Democrats to try and recruit him for the race.

Kennedy was considered the front runner for the governorship of Massachusetts in 1998,[71] but revelations about his personal life led to a tumultuous fall in public opinion polling, and he decided against running.

Shortly after the inflight movie began during the 747's flight from New Delhi to Athens, five gunmen seized the jet and forced it to land at Aden International Airport, where all hostages were released the following day.

[1][79] The Kennedy family paid for Kelley's initial medical treatment and contributed modestly to her care during the years following the accident.

[83][84] Rauch refused to agree to the annulment; Kennedy married Kelly in a non-Catholic civil ceremony on October 23, 1993.

[87] As the first decision was never confirmed, there was no time at which the Church finally declared the marriage to be null or gave Kennedy permission to remarry.