Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, a son of one of the most storied families in American politics, a man who knew triumph and tragedy in near-equal measure and who will be remembered as one of the most effective lawmakers in the history of the Senate, died late Tuesday night at the age of 77 , the New York Times reports.

“Edward M. Kennedy – the husband, father, grandfather, brother and uncle we loved so deeply – died late Tuesday night at home in Hyannis Port,” the statement from the Kennedy family said. “We’ve lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism, and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever.”

Ted Kennedy was the last surviving Kennedy brother of the generation of President John F Kennedy and Senator Robert F Kennedy.

Kennedy had been in precarious health since he suffered a seizure in May 2008. His doctors determined the cause had been a malignant glioma, a brain tumor that often carries a grim prognosis.

Kennedy was the last surviving brother of a generation of Kennedys that dominated American politics in the 1960s and that came to embody glamour, political idealism and untimely death. His brother John F Kennedy was assassinated as the President in November 1963, and another brother, Robert F Kennedy as a presidential candidate in June 1968. The eldest brother of the generation, Joseph P. Kennedy Jr, died in 1944 while on a risky WWII bombing mission.

Kennedy served 46 years as the most well-known Democrat in the Senate, longer than all but two other senators.

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