Birthday Celebration in Honor of Mrs. Rose Kennedy

News Release Date: July 9, 2012

Contact: Sara Patton, 617-566-7937

Brookline, MA — On July 22, 2012, John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site(NHS) will celebrate theanniversary of the birth of Mrs. Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald Kennedy by offering special programs and tours led by National Park Service Rangers from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.The event coincides with Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy's birthday (July 22, 1890) and explores Mrs. Kennedy's life, her family, and her involvement in politics. An active political figure throughout her life, Mrs. Kennedy was the daughter of a two-time Mayor of Boston, wife of a U.S. Ambassador to the Court of St. James (Great Britain), and mother of three Senators and a President. The event features a special exhibit highlighting Mrs. Kennedy's own political activism and work to commemorate her son's life.

Admission to the site and tours is free.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy NHS preserves the birthplace (1917) and boyhood home of the 35^th President of the United States. The modest house was the first home shared by the president's father and mother, Joseph Patrick and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy: John, the second of their nine children, spent his formative years in Brookline as his family began its rise to national prominence. In 1966, Rose Kennedy returned to 83 Beals Street to commemorate President Kennedy's life, restoring the birthplace to her recollection of its 1917 appearance.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy NHS is open Wednesday through Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. through October 31, 2011. Admission is free. Guided tours of the house are offered every half-hour starting at 9:30 a.m. The last ranger-led tour is at 3:30 p.m. From 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. visitors may follow a self-guided tour of the home recorded by Rose Kennedy herself.

For more information, click here or call John F. Kennedy National Historic Site at [phone].