Birth name: Barack Hussein Obama Jr.
Father: Barack Hussein Obama, goat herder-turned-economist
Children: Natasha (Sasha) and Malia
Education: Columbia University, B.A., 1983, Harvard University, J.D., 1991
Other Facts
The name Barack means “one who is blessed” in Swahili.
Is the first African-American to be president of the Harvard Law Review.
Timeline
1964 – His parents divorce when he is two years old.
Late 1960s – Lives in Indonesia with mother and stepfather Lolo Soetoro.
1971 – Returns to Hawaii to live with his maternal grandparents and attend school.
November 24, 1982 – Barack Obama Sr. dies in a car accident in Kenya.
1992-2004 – Practices civil rights law and teaches constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School.
November 7, 1995 – Obama’s mother dies of ovarian cancer at the age of 52.
1995 – Publishes his autobiography “Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance” in which he admits to experimenting with marijuana and cocaine as a teenager.
1997-2005 – Illinois State Senator, representing the 13th District.
2000 – Runs for the US House seat in Illinois’s 1st District and loses to former Black Panther Bobby Rush.
July 27, 2004 – Delivers the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention.
November 2004 – Wins the US Senate race in Illinois, defeating Alan Keyes. It is the first race between two African-American candidates for Senate.
January 4, 2005 – Is sworn in as US senator.
January 16, 2007 – Files papers with the FEC to form a presidential exploratory committee.
November 3, 2007 – Makes a surprise guest appearance on the television show “Saturday Night Live.”
June 3, 2008 – Secures enough delegates to win the nomination — 2,118 — after the South Dakota and Montana primaries.
June 19, 2008 – Announces he will not accept federal matching funds for his presidential campaign, foregoing $80 million dollars in federal money and a cap on how much he can spend.
August 27-28, 2008 – Officially nominated as and accepts the nomination for president on the democratic ticket, becoming the first African-American candidate in US history to lead a major party.
November 3, 2008 – Grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, 86, dies in Hawaii after a long battle with cancer.
November 4, 2008 – Is elected president of the United States with an estimated 66.7 million popular votes and 365 electoral votes.
November 16, 2008 – Resigns his seat in the US Senate.
January 20, 2009 – Is sworn in as the 44th president of the United States, becoming the first African-American to hold the position.
March 23, 2010 – Signs the Affordable Care Act, a health care reform bill, into law.
March 28, 2010 – Makes a surprise visit to Afghanistan, his first as president.
July 21, 2010 – Signs the Wall Street reform bill into law.
October 21, 2011 – Announces the withdrawal of most US troops in Iraq by December 31, which would fulfill a 2008 campaign pledge to end the war.
September 6, 2012 – Accepts the Democratic nomination for president at Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina.
January 20, 2013 – Is sworn in for his second term in a private ceremony in the Blue Room of the White House.
March 20, 2016 – Arrives in Cuba, becoming the first sitting US president to visit in 88 years.
January 20, 2017 – Leaves office after two terms as president.
November 17, 2020 – Obama’s memoir, “A Promised Land,” is published.