US Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) waves as he walks out of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, in this May 21, 2008 file photo. Kennedy, a major figure in the Democratic Party who took the helm of one of America's most fabled political families after two older brothers were assassinated, died late on August 25, 2009, CNN said. He was 77. Also known as "Teddy," he was the brother of President John Kennedy, assassinated in 1963, Senator Robert Kennedy, fatally shot while campaigning for the 1968 Democratic presidential nomination, and Joe Kennedy, a pilot killed in World War Two. Picture taken May 21, 2008. [Agencies]