Rosemary Kennedy

Rose Marie Kennedy, also known as Rosemary Kennedy, was born on September 13, 1918, at her parents' residence in Brookline, Massachusetts. She was the eldest daughter of Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. She was the third child in her family and the first daughter. Her parents named her after her mother, and she was commonly referred to as Rosemary or Rosie.

Her birth occurred during the Spanish influenza epidemic; due to an outbreak, there was a delay in the arrival of the attending doctor, and a nurse instructed her mother to keep her legs closed, which resulted in a lack of oxygen and potential harm during delivery. As she grew, her developmental progress appeared delayed. By the age of two, Rosemary had difficulty sitting up, crawling, and walking. She was believed to have an intellectual disability, although there have been questions regarding the accuracy of her family's accounts. Her mother later chose to conceal her daughter's developmental challenges, and only members of the immediate family were aware of her condition.

Rosemary Kennedy's early education included attendance at a Pennsylvania boarding school for individuals with intellectual disabilities at age 11, followed by enrollment at Sacred Heart Convent in Elmhurst, Providence, Rhode Island, at age 16. She was instructed separately from other students by nuns and a dedicated teacher, and her academic skills reportedly remained at a fourth-grade level. She had limited literary interests, reading few books such as Winnie-the-Pooh, but her diaries from the late 1930s suggest she participated in social activities including opera outings, tea dances, and dress fittings.

Her family publicly conveyed that she was studying to become a kindergarten teacher and that she harbored interests in social welfare and possibly the stage. She was introduced to royalty when she was presented as a debutante at Buckingham Palace in 1938 during her father's diplomatic service as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom. During the event, she practiced her curtsy carefully, nearly falling during the process, but the incident was not publicly acknowledged by her family.

In her early twenties, Rosemary’s behavior became increasingly irritable and disruptive. She experienced convulsions and violent outbursts, leading her parents to seek medical intervention. After a series of disruptive behaviors, including being expelled from a summer camp and sneaking out at night from a convent school, her father, Joseph Kennedy, was advised that a lobotomy might help manage her mood swings. In 1941, at age 23, she underwent a lobotomy performed by Dr. Walter Freeman and Dr. James Watts at George Washington University. The procedure involved creating incisions in her brain's frontal lobes with a butter knife-like instrument, guided by her responses to questions during the surgery.

Following the operation, Rosemary's mental capacity was severely diminished, leaving her unable to speak intelligibly, walk independently, or control her bodily functions. The surgery resulted in permanent incapacitation. Her condition was concealed from the public, and her family isolated her, initially from her siblings and extended relatives.

Subsequently, Rosemary Kennedy was institutionalized. Initially residing at Craig House, a private psychiatric hospital, she was later moved in 1949 to St. Coletta in Jefferson, Wisconsin, where she lived for the remainder of her life. Her father built a private residence nearby, known as "the Kennedy cottage," for her care. She was cared for by Catholic nuns and other caregivers, who provided her with a modest social life that included rides and walks with her dog. Her mother did not visit her for approximately 20 years, and her father never visited her at the institution.

Rosemary Kennedy died on January 7, 2005.