Articles about Ted Kennedy from Harvard Magazine's archives

Kennedy debated Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger ’38 at a special event for the Kennedy School in 1986.

Senator Kennedy acknowledges his audience in Sanders Theatre last December, when he received an honorary degree.

Senator Kennedy acknowledges his audience in Sanders Theatre last December, when he received an honorary degree. | Jon Chase/Harvard News Office

In memory of Senator Edward M. Kennedy ’54, LL.D. ’08, Harvard Magazine offers a glimpse of the man in action, debating then Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger ’38, J.D. ’41, in Washington, D.C., in 1986 as one of several special events marking the fifteenth anniversary of the Harvard Kennedy School. (According to Harvard president Derek Bok, who moderated the debate, both speakers were “shy, inarticulate, somewhat ill-at-ease, and not too well informed” when they entered Harvard, but “When they got their diplomas, they were supremely self-possessed and equipped with formidable forensic skills.”) Michael J. Abramowitz ’85 filed the report.

Read Harvard Magazine’s coverage of the honorary-degree ceremony for Senator Kennedy in December 2008

Read President Faust’s statement on Senator Kennedy’s death

Most popular

College staff whose jobs will be changed or eliminated were notified this week.

In her memoir All That's Unseen, Emilee Hackney explores religion, friendship, and home.

The planned opening of the Goel Center in Allston for performances will be in spring of 2027.

Explore More From Current Issue

Harvey Mansfield seated in a bright yellow chair, surrounded by bookshelves and cozy decor.

The retired government professor has been a rare conservative voice on campus for decades.

A blue refrigerator covered with animal pictures, notes, and drawings, surrounded by greenery.

An animal’s journey from grief to love shows how much humans need each other, too.

A chaotic scene in a messy room with people engaging in various activities, some cleaning.

Until the 1950s, professionals cleaned up after students in the dorms.