US Presidential Advisor, Attorney and Author. Born Theodore Chaikin Sorensen, he received bachelor's (1949) and law (1951) degrees from the University of Nebraska and became an attorney. As an aide to Senator John F. Kennedy in the 1950s, he assisted in authoring Kennedy's Pulitzer Prize winning book "Profiles in Courage". As Special Counsel after Kennedy won the Presidency, Sorensen contributed to his inaugural address, one of the highlights of presidential oratory. Sorensen was one of the inner circle that advised Kennedy on foreign policy, especially the Bay of Pigs and Cuban Missile Crises. After Kennedy's death Sorensen stayed on under Lyndon Johnson before resigning to author a JFK biography, 1965's "Kennedy". Sorensen later practiced law, advised Robert F. Kennedy's 1968 presidential campaign, and was an unsuccessful candidate for the US Senate from New York. In 1977 he was nominated for Central Intelligence Agency Director, but withdrew. He continued to advise Democratic candidates, and authored several books, including: "The Kennedy Legacy" (1969); "Watchmen in the Night: Presidential Accountability After Watergate" (1975); "A Different Kind of Presidency: A Proposal for Breaking the Political Deadlock" (1984); "Let the Word Go Forth: The Speeches, Statements and Writings of John F. Kennedy, 1947-1963" (1988); "Why I Am a Democrat" (1996); and his autobiography, 2008's "Counselor: A Life at the Edge of History". Sorensen suffered a stroke in 2001 and died at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center from complications of a another stroke.
US Presidential Advisor, Attorney and Author. Born Theodore Chaikin Sorensen, he received bachelor's (1949) and law (1951) degrees from the University of Nebraska and became an attorney. As an aide to Senator John F. Kennedy in the 1950s, he assisted in authoring Kennedy's Pulitzer Prize winning book "Profiles in Courage". As Special Counsel after Kennedy won the Presidency, Sorensen contributed to his inaugural address, one of the highlights of presidential oratory. Sorensen was one of the inner circle that advised Kennedy on foreign policy, especially the Bay of Pigs and Cuban Missile Crises. After Kennedy's death Sorensen stayed on under Lyndon Johnson before resigning to author a JFK biography, 1965's "Kennedy". Sorensen later practiced law, advised Robert F. Kennedy's 1968 presidential campaign, and was an unsuccessful candidate for the US Senate from New York. In 1977 he was nominated for Central Intelligence Agency Director, but withdrew. He continued to advise Democratic candidates, and authored several books, including: "The Kennedy Legacy" (1969); "Watchmen in the Night: Presidential Accountability After Watergate" (1975); "A Different Kind of Presidency: A Proposal for Breaking the Political Deadlock" (1984); "Let the Word Go Forth: The Speeches, Statements and Writings of John F. Kennedy, 1947-1963" (1988); "Why I Am a Democrat" (1996); and his autobiography, 2008's "Counselor: A Life at the Edge of History". Sorensen suffered a stroke in 2001 and died at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center from complications of a another stroke.
Bio by: Bill McKern
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
