HYANNIS PORT, Mass. (AP) -- The Kennedy family says it has lost "the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives."

The statement announcing the death of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy after a yearlong battle with brain cancer goes on to say that "his faith, optimism, and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever." Kennedy was 77.

The liberal lion of the Senate became the haunted bearer of the Camelot torch after two of his brothers fell to assassins' bullets.

For nearly a half-century, Kennedy was a steadfast champion of the working class and the poor, a powerful voice on health care, civil rights, and war and peace. To the American public, he was best known as the last surviving son of America's most glamorous political family, shattered again and again by tragedy.

Kennedy was elected in 1962 and put his imprint on every major piece of social legislation to clear the Congress.

Edward Kennedy Bio

-- Hometown: Hyannis Port

-- Born: February 22, 1932; Boston, Mass.

-- Religion: Roman Catholic

-- Family: Wife, Victoria Reggie Kennedy; three children, two stepchildren

-- Harvard graduate - B.A. 1956 (government)

-- University of Virginia law school graduate - LL.B. 1959

-- Education: International Law School, The Hague (The Netherlands), attended 1958;

-- Military Service: Army, 1951-53

-- Career: Lawyer

-- Elected: 1962-U.S. Senate

-- Political Highlights: Suffolk County assistant district attorney, 1961-62; sought Democratic nomination for president, 1980; Awarded Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama, Aug. 12 2009

NOTABLE DATES

--Born February, 22, 1932.

--1951-53: served in the Army.

--1958: married Virginia Joan Bennett.

--1961-62: Suffolk County assistant district attorney.

--1962: first elected to U.S. Senate.

--1964: injured in plane crash, leaving him with back pain.

--1968: temporarily withdrew from public life.

--1980: lost bid for Democratic presidential nomination.

--1982: divorced first wife Joan.

--1992: married Victoria Reggie.

--1994: Son Patrick elected to Congress from Rhode Island.

FAMILY

--Parents: Joseph and Rose Kennedy

--Youngest of nine children.

--Maternal grandfather: John F. "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald, congressman and Boston mayor.

--Married Virginia Joan Bennett (Joan) in 1958.

--Divorced in 1982.

--Daughter: Kara Anne.

--Son: Patrick Joseph.

--Son: Edward M. Kennedy Jr.

--Married Washington lawyer Victoria Reggie in 1992.

--Two stepchildren, Caroline and Curran Raclin, from Victoria Reggie Kennedy's first marriage.

--Edward Jr. lost a leg to bone cancer in 1973 at age 12.

--Patrick Kennedy had a non-cancerous tumor pressing on spine removed in 1998.

--Kara Kennedy Allen had a cancerous tumor removed from her lung in 2003.

--Ex-wife Joan underwent surgery for breast cancer in 2005.

SENATE RECORD

--Elected to fill final two years of brother John's term in 1962.

--Re-elected to seven full terms.

--Temporarily withdrew from public life in 1968.

--Re-emerged in 1969 to be elected majority whip of the Senate.

--Re-elected in 1970, but lost leadership post after Chappaquiddick.

--1994: retained Senate seat, beating Mitt Romney with 58 percent of vote.

--2000: reelected with 73 percent of vote.

--2006: reelected with 69 percent of vote.

--2007: became chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

--Was second most senior member of Senate to Sen. Robert Byrd, W.Va.

--Served longer than all but two senators in history (Byrd and the late Sen. Strom Thurmond, S.C.)

--Dominant voice on issues of health care, social and civil rights and foreign affairs.

LEGISLATIVE ACHIEVEMENTS

--1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

--1997 Children's Health Insurance Program

--1990 Americans with Disabilities Act

--Creation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

--Key negotiator on legislation creating a Medicare prescription drug benefit for senior citizens

PRESIDENTIAL ASPIRATIONS

--Ruled out presidential run in 1976.

--Gallup poll in summer of 1978 suggests Democrats preferred Kennedy over President Jimmy Carter, 54 percent to 32 percent.

--Challenged President Jimmy Carter in 1980 primaries.

--lost rules battle at the Democratic National Convention.

--Unable to clearly answer question from CBS's Roger Mudd: "Why do you want to be president?"

--"I learned to lose, and for a Kennedy that's hard."

--January 2008: endorsed Barack Obama for president.

SCANDALS

--July 18, 1969: drove off bridge at Chappaquiddick; Mary Jo Kopechne killed; pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident; two-month suspended sentence and year's probation.

--Divorced first wife, Joan, in 1982.

--1991: roused nephew and son to go for drinks; Nephew William Kennedy Smith accused, later acquitted, of rape.

--October 1991: acknowledges "faults in the conduct of my private life.