KENNEDY FAMILY DEATHS: A TIMELINE OF TRAGEDY

The death of Saoirse Kennedy Hill adds to a litany of tragedies that have befallen the Kennedys and taken on the grim aura of a family curse. Here is a look back at the misfortunes that have struck one of the most visible families in the United States.

1944: Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. The eldest child of Joseph and Rose Kennedy, he was killed in a plane crash while serving with the U.S. Navy in World War II. He was 29.

1948: Kathleen Kennedy. Kathleen, a daughter of Joseph and Rose, was also killed in a plane crash. She died at age 28 on a flight from Paris to the French Riviera.

1963: Patrick Bouvier Kennedy. Patrick, who was born prematurely to President John Kennedy and his wife, Jacqueline, in 1963, died three months before his father’s assassination. His life lasted less than 40 hours.

1963: John F. Kennedy. The 35th president of the United States and another of Joseph and Rose’s children. President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963. He was 46.

1968: Robert F. Kennedy. Robert, the president’s brother and a former senator and attorney general, was assassinated in Los Angeles on June 5, 1968. He was 42.

1984: David Kennedy. David died of a drug overdose in a hotel near the family vacation home in Palm Beach, Florida. A son of Robert and Ethel, he was 28.

1997: Michael Kennedy. David’s brother Michael was killed in a skiing accident at Aspen, Colorado. He was 39.

1999: John F. Kennedy Jr. The president’s son, John F. Kennedy Jr., was killed in 1999 when the airplane he was flying crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts; his wife and sister-in-law were on board and were also killed.

2011: Kara Kennedy. Kara, the daughter of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, died of a heart attack. She was 51.