Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925 - June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American politician and lawyer. He served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, and as a U.S. Senator from New York from January 1965 until his assassination in June 1968, when he was running for the Democratic presidential nomination.