Edward Kennedy loses cancer battle

For nearly a half-century in the Senate, Kennedy was a dominant voice on health care, civil rights, war and peace, and more.

To the American public, though, he was best known as the last surviving brother of a legendary political family.

Edward Kennedy was elected to the Senate in 1962, when his brother John was president, and served longer than all but two senators in history.

Over the decades, he put his imprint on every major piece of social legislation to clear the Congress.

A family statement said: "We've lost the irreplaceable centre of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism, and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever. We thank everyone who gave him care and support over this last year, and everyone who stood with him for so many years in his tireless march for progress toward justice, fairness and opportunity for all."

Senator Kennedy lost two of his brothers - John and Robert - to assassins' bullets, and his own hopes of reaching the White House were damaged, perhaps doomed, in 1969 by the scandal that came to be known as Chappaquiddick, a car accident that left a young woman dead.

Senator Kennedy - known to family, friends and foes simply as Ted - ended his quest for the presidency in 1980 with a stirring valedictory that echoed across the decades: "For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die."

The third-longest-serving senator in US history, he was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumour in May 2008 and underwent surgery and a gruelling regime of radiation and chemotherapy.

His death comes just weeks after that of his sister Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who died on August 11.