Kenneth O'Donnell

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Kenneth Phillip O'Donnell (March 4, 1924 - September 9, 1977) was a top aide to US President John F. Kennedy, part of the group of Kennedy's close advisors who were called the "Irish Mafia".

Born "Phillip Kenneth O'Donnell' in Worcester, Massachusetts, he had his first two names legally reversed in the 1960s.

During the Second World War O'Donnell served in the US Air Force (1942-1945). After the war O'Donnell studied at Harvard University where he met Robert Kennedy. He also attended Boston College Law School.

In 1951 O'Donnell worked as a salesman for Hollingsworth and Whitney in Boston. A member of the Democratic Party, O'Donnell helped in the campaign to get John F. Kennedy elected to the Senate.

O'Donnell worked in public relations before being appointed as Assistant Counsel, Select Committee to Investigate Improper Activities in Labor-Management Relations in the Senate (1957-59).

In 1960 O'Donnell was the organizer and director of John F. Kennedy's presidential campaign schedule. The following year he became Kennedy's special assistant. O'Donnell was an early critic of the Vietnam War and advised Kennedy to bring an end to America's involvement in the conflict.