After serving in the US Navy during World War II and graduating from the University of Virginia, Kennedy began working for the U.S. Department of Justice. He was appointed as Attorney General of the United States by his brother, President John F. Kennedy, in 1960. After the President’s assassination, Robert was elected to the U.S. Senate representing the state of New York. He entered the presidential race in 1968, challenging then-President Lyndon B. Johnson for the Democratic nomination.
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Johnson dropped out of the primaries less than a month later. Kennedy’s plan for winning the nomination hinged upon winning the California primary. His strategists thought once he won the California primary, Kennedy would be able to take on Hubert Humphrey at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
At the Ambassador Hotel In Los Angeles, during the early morning hours of June 5, 1968, Kennedy thanked his supporters for helping him win the California primary. On his way out of the hotel, he was shot by a Palestinian, Sirhan Sirhan.
Robert F. Kennedy was buried here, in Arlington National Cemetery, just a hundred feet from his brother John F. Kennedy. At the request of Robert’s family in 1971, architect I.M. Pei redesigned the gravesite, retaining the simple white cross and adding a granite pool.
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