Joe Biden's 76th Birthday
Seventy-six years ago today, Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the oldest of four children
In 1953, the family moved to Delaware. It was there that the name Joe Biden would eventually become quite familiar.
Biden was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1972, and proceeded to hold this seat for six terms (until 2008).
On December 18, 1972, a few weeks after the election, Biden's wife and one-year-old daughter Naomi were killed in an automobile accident while Christmas shopping in Hockessin, Delaware. He remarried a few years later, wedding Jill Jacobs in 1977.
Joe Biden ran unsuccessfully for president in both 1988 and 2008. But shortly after losing the 2008 bid, he was chosen by Barack Obama as his vice presidential running mate, serving in this capacity throughout Obama’s eight years as president. Through the trials and joys Obama and Biden experienced while in office, a close friendship was forged.
Sadly, while serving as vice president, Biden suffered another devastating personal loss. His son Beau died May 30, 2015 of brain cancer at the age of 46.
In Janurary 2017, President Obama awarded Biden the Presidential Medal of Freedom. "It was 8 1/2 years ago that I chose Joe to be my vice president. There has not been a single moment since that time that I have doubted the wisdom of that decision,” Obama said.
Unfortunately, in each life tragedy will strike. Perhaps multiple times. But students learning about the life of Joe Biden will see an example of achieving and succeeding in the face of such grief and adversity.
eLibrary is the place for students to discover even more information on Biden, as well as on the 46 vice presidents prior to him.
And the voluminous political career of Joe Biden may not be over. Will he run again for president in 2020? Stay tuned!