HYANNIS PORT, Mass. --Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, seen by some as the last lion of liberalism, a gregarious man who ascended to greatness on the American political stage, died late Tuesday night at his Cape Cod home.

Kennedy, who waged a public fight against a malignant brain tumor in the last year of his life, was surrounded by family members who had come in recent days to say a last goodbye to him.

His death marks the end to a life where like the phoenix, Kennedy rose above earlier lapses in judgment that nearly eclipsed his potential.

Kennedy was first elected to the U.S. Senate from Massachusetts in 1962 and was re-elected for seven full terms.

He became the third-longest-serving senator of all time.

Edward Moore Kennedy was born in 1932 -- the ninth and last child in the celebrated line of Rose and Joseph Kennedy.

His life as a child was one of frequent moves from Massachusetts to New York and the Court of St. James in London, where his father was the ambassador.

In a life of privilege, he would know tremendous sorrow.

His brother Joseph died in World War II and his sister Kathleen was killed in a plane crash in 1948. His sister Rosemary underwent a lobotomy at age 23 and was mentally incapacitated for the rest of her life.

Then his brother, John, was killed and later his brother, Bobby, was also assassinated.

As he said many times in many parts of this nation to those he touched and who sought to touch him, "some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not?"

In his early years with Harvard and University of Virginia Law School behind him, Kennedy's future in the United States Senate was determined by his father.

A 1962 Senate race against Edward J. McCormack bloodied the first-time office seeker, but Kennedy prevailed.

"I am grateful to the people of Massachusetts for the great trust they've bestowed upon me," he said.

Later there would be a failed presidential bid. But it is his accomplishments in the Senate that had the greatest impact. Kennedy authored more than 2,500 bills.

Colleagues said his success was an ability to build allies and coalitions that transcended party affiliations. Health care, immigration and the plight of the working family were among his passions.

One of Kennedy's most memorable career struggles was his determined opposition to the Iraq wars.

"That is an issue that I feel that the administration has failed the America people. What are the best estimates? What should we expect are going to be needed in terms of the forces over there," Kennedy said.

But there were shameful periods, too. The 1969 crash at Chappaquiddick, where one of his campaign workers, Mary Joe Kopechne, drowned in Kennedy's car, can never be erased.

"I dove repeatedly, and I absolutely couldn't have done -- really, I felt -- anything further at that time," Kennedy said at the time.

After a divorce from his first wife, Joan, Ted Kennedy eventually remarried Victoria Reggie and his final years were more personally serene.

He was patriarch of the Kennedy family and worked to keep the faith of what he defined the Kennedy political legacy. These may have been his best years when he strove to be the keeper of the flame.

Through it all, he endured.