Kerry

[ker-ee]

Kerry, John Forbes, 1943-, U.S. politician, b. Denver, grad. Yale, 1966, Boston College law school, 1976. A decorated navy veteran who served two tours in Vietnam after graduating from Yale, Kerry won national notice as an outspoken opponent of the war when he returned stateside. Entering politics in his home state of Massachusetts, he ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat in 1972. After graduating from law school, he served as an assistant district attorney (1977-82) before becoming lieutenant governor of Massachusetts (1983-85). In 1984, Kerry was elected to the U.S. Senate and since has been reelected four times. He chaired the Senate committee on small business from 2001 to 2003, and with Senator John McCain was instrumental in the the lifting of the U.S. trade embargo of Vietnam in the 1990s. An early favorite for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination, he was eclipsed by Howard Dean in the months leading up to the caucuses and primaries. However, Kerry quickly emerged as the frontrunner once the voting began, securing enough delegates for the nomination by mid-March, and he subsequently chose North Carolina senator John Edwards as his running mate. After the most expensive campaign in U.S. history, the Democratic ticket lost to the incumbents, President G. W. Bush and Vice President Cheney, in the Nov., 2004, election. Kerry has chaired the Senate small business and entrepreneurship (2007-9) and foreign relations (2009-) committees.

See biography by M. Kranish et al. (2004); P. Alexander, The Candidate (2004).

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press

Kerry

Kerry, county (1991 pop. 121,894), 1,815 sq mi (4,701 sq km), SW Republic of Ireland. The county town is Tralee. Kerry consists of a series of mountainous peninsulas that extend into the Atlantic. The shoreline is deeply indented by Dingle Bay, Tralee Bay, and the Kenmare River. Carrantuohill (3,414 ft/1,041 m), in the mountains known as Macgillycuddy's Reeks, is the highest point in Ireland. The streams are short and precipitous, and many bogs exist. The Lakes of Killarney are a popular tourist attraction. Farming (oats and potatoes), fishing, sheep and cattle raising, and dairying are the chief occupations. Peat is sold commercially. Footwear is made in Tralee and Killarney. Many well-preserved dolmens, stone forts, round towers, castles, and abbeys still stand. Irish Gaelic is spoken by inhabitants of the Dingle peninsula and the Blasket Islands.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press

Kerry

County Kerry, a county in the southwest of Ireland

Kerry or Kerri may also refer to:

In Name

Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin.

In American politics:

Alexandra Kerry, the elder daughter of 2004 US Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry
Cameron Kerry, the younger brother and political confidant of John F. Kerry
John Kerry, a United States Senator from Massachusetts and the 2004 Democratic Presidential candidate
Kerry Healey, Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts
Teresa Heinz Kerry, philanthropist and the wife of U.S. Senator John Kerry
Vanessa Kerry, the younger daughter of U.S. Senator and former Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry

In film:

Kerri Green is an American actress
Kerry LaiFatt is a Canadian actress
Kerry Washington is an American actress

In geography:

In music:

Kerri Chandler, producer of house music
Kerry Katona, pop singer
Kerry King, Guitarist for thrash metal band Slayer

In sports:

Kerri Buchberger, Canadian volleyball player
Kerry Collins, American football player
Kerry GAA, Ireland football county team
Kerry Kittles, American basketball player
Kerry Ligtenberg, American baseball player
Kerry O'Brien, Australian middle-distance runner
Kerri Pottharst, Australian beach volleyball player
Kerry Reid, Australian tennis player
Kerri Strug, American gymnast
Kerry Von Erich, American wrestler
Kerri Walsh, American beach volleyball player
Kerry Wood, American baseball player

In other fields:

Earl of Kerry, ancient title in the Peerage of Ireland
Kerri-Anne Kennerley, an Australian television presenter
Kerri Hoskins, a former glamour model
Kerri Kasem, an American radio and television host
Kerri Kendall, an American model and actress
Kerri Kenney-Silver, an American comedian, actress, singer and writer
Kerri Sakamoto, a Canadian novelist
Kerry Airport, an international airport in County Kerry, Ireland
Kerry Group, a major food company in Ireland
Kerry G. Johnson, graphic designer, caricature artist
Kerry Joyce, award-winning Los Angeles based interior designer and product designer
Kerry McCluggage, owner and president of Craftsman Films
Kerry Media, newspaper and publications group, owner of the South China Morning Post, controlled by Robert Kuok
Kerry Packer, Australian media magnate
Kerry Properties, a property developer in Hong Kong
Mornings with Kerri-Anne, Australian television program
Rosemary Forbes Kerry, one of eleven children of James Grant Forbes of the Protestant Forbes family of China and Boston
Kerry, a KDE frontend for Beagle desktop search software.
Kerry Blue Terrier, a breed of dog named after County Kerry in South West Ireland.