Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the first of four children of Catherine Eugenia Finnegan Biden and Joseph Robinette Biden, Sr. In 1953, the Biden family moved to Claymont, Delaware. President Biden graduated from the University of Delaware and Syracuse Law School and served on the New Castle County Council.
At age 29, President Biden became one of the youngest people ever elected to the United States Senate. Just weeks after his Senate election, tragedy struck the Biden family when his wife Neilia and daughter Naomi were killed, and sons Hunter and Beau were critically injured, in an auto accident.
Biden was sworn into the U.S. Senate at his sons’ hospital bedsides and began commuting from Wilmington to Washington every day, first by car, and then by train, in order to be with his family. He would continue to do so throughout his time in the Senate.
Biden married Jill Jacobs in 1977, and in 1980, their family was complete with the birth of Ashley Blazer Biden. A lifelong educator, Jill earned her doctorate in education and returned to teaching as an English professor at a community college in Virginia.
Beau Biden, Attorney General of Delaware and Joe Biden’s eldest son, passed away in 2015 after battling brain cancer with the same integrity, courage, and strength he demonstrated every day of his life. Beau’s fight with cancer inspires the mission of President Biden’s life — ending cancer as we know it.
As a Senator from Delaware for 36 years, President Biden established himself as a leader in facing some of our nation’s most important domestic and international challenges. As Chairman or Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee for 16 years, Biden is widely recognized for his work writing and spearheading the Violence Against Women Act — the landmark legislation that strengthens penalties for violence against women, creates unprecedented resources for survivors of assault, and changes the national dialogue on domestic and sexual assault.
As Chairman or Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for 12 years, Biden played a pivotal role in shaping U.S. foreign policy. He was at the forefront of issues and legislation related to terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, post-Cold War Europe, the Middle East, Southwest Asia, and ending apartheid.
In 2008, Biden was elected as the 47th Vice President of the United States. As Vice President, Biden continued his leadership on important issues facing the nation and represented our country abroad. Vice President Biden convened sessions of the President’s Cabinet, led interagency efforts, and worked with Congress in his fight to raise the living standards of middle-class Americans, reduce gun violence, address violence against women, and end cancer as we know it.
Biden helped President Obama pass and then oversaw the implementation of the Recovery Act — the biggest economic recovery plan in the history of the nation and our biggest and strongest commitment to clean energy. The President’s plan prevented another Great Depression, created and saved millions of jobs, and led to 75 uninterrupted months of job growth by the end of the administration. And Biden did it all with less than 1% in waste, abuse, or fraud — the most efficient government program in our country’s history.
President Obama and Vice President Biden also secured the passage of the Affordable Care Act, which reduced the number of uninsured Americans by 20 million by the time they left office and banned insurance companies from denying coverage due to pre-existing conditions.
He served as the point person for U.S. diplomacy throughout the Western Hemisphere, strengthened relationships with our allies both in Europe and the Asia-Pacific, and led the effort to bring 150,000 troops home from Iraq.
In 2020, Biden was elected the 45th President of the United States. He took the oath of office on January 20, 2021, amidst unprecedented crises - a raging pandemic, economic crisis, climate crisis, and racial injustice. The President and Vice President ran for office on the promise to move quickly to tackle these crises head-on and deliver results for working families. That’s what the Biden-Harris Administration has done.
See also: What Biden's delivered for cats
The Inflation Reduction Act is a historic legislative achievement that lowers costs for families, combats the climate crisis, reduces the deficit, and finally makes the largest corporations pay their fair share. For the first time, Medicare is able to negotiate the price of certain high-cost drugs, a month’s supply of insulin for seniors is capped at $35, Medicare beneficiaries pay $0 out of pocket for recommended adult vaccines, and seniors’ out of pocket expenses at the pharmacy will be capped at $2,000 a year. And thanks to the President’s actions, including a historic release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, gas prices are down more than $1.60 from their summer 2022 peak.
As a result of President Biden’s economic plan, 2021 and 2022 were the two strongest years of job growth in history. Nearly 11 million jobs have been created since President Biden took office – including 750,000 manufacturing jobs. The unemployment rate is at a 50-year low, and a record number of small businesses have started since President Biden took office. Black Americans and Hispanic Americans have near record low unemployment rates and people with disabilities are experiencing record low unemployment.
As a result of historic legislation the President has signed into law, led by the CHIPS and Science Act, there is a manufacturing boom taking hold across America: in two years, companies have announced nearly $300 billion in manufacturing investments in the United States. These investments are ensuring the technologies of the future are made in America, and bringing back supply chains from overseas. And they are creating good-paying jobs, including union jobs and jobs that don’t require a four-year degree.
Soon after taking office, with a pandemic raging and an economy reeling, the President signed the American Rescue Plan to change the course of the pandemic and jumpstart our economic recovery. The American Rescue Plan funded his successful vaccination campaign, safely re-opened schools for in-person learning, helped 200,000 child care providers keep their doors open, and delivered relief to American families.
Washington policymakers celebrated "infrastructure week" without ever delivering. President Biden got it done. He worked across the aisle to forge consensus and passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – a once-in-a-generation investment in our nation’s infrastructure. We are rebuilding our roads, bridges, ports, and airports, upgrading public transit and rail systems, replacing lead pipes to provide clean water, cleaning up pollution, providing affordable high-speed internet to every family in America, delivering cheaper and cleaner energy to households and businesses, and creating good-paying jobs – including union jobs, and jobs that don’t require a four-year degree.
President Biden signed into law the PACT Act – the most significant expansion of benefits and services for toxic exposed veterans in more than 30 years. This law also enables the Department of Veterans Affairs to move more quickly in the future to determine if illnesses are related to military service, and it offers critical support to survivors who were harmed by exposures. And, the law authorized 31 new clinical sites and provides VA several tools and resources to ensure effective implementation of the law.
President Biden brought together Democrats and Republicans to pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the first major piece of gun safety legislation in three decades. The law will save lives by requiring young people ages 18 to 21 to undergo enhanced background checks; narrowing the "boyfriend loophole" to keep guns out of the hands of convicted dating partners; funding crisis interventions, including extreme risk protection order ("red flag") laws; making significant investments to address the mental health crisis in America, including in our schools; clarifying who needs to register as a federally licensed gun dealer and run background checks before selling a single weapon; and making gun trafficking and straw purchases distinct federal crimes.
Over ten years ago, President Biden announced his support for marriage equality, becoming the highest-ranking U.S. government official to do so. Building on his longstanding support and generations of civil rights advocacy, President Biden signed historic bipartisan legislation protecting marriage for same-sex and interracial couples. And, the President took historic steps to advance full equality for LGBTQI+ Americans, including reversing the discriminatory ban on transgender service members in the military, strengthening non-discrimination protections in health care, housing, education, and employment, and ensuring that transgender Americans can access government support and services.
Since the Supreme Court took away a constitutional right from the American people, President Biden and Vice President Harris are taking action to defend reproductive rights. The President has signed Executive Orders to protect access to reproductive health care, including abortion and contraception, and safeguard patient privacy and sensitive health information, and has made clear his commitment to fighting any attack by a state or local official who attempts to interfere with women exercising their constitutional right to travel out of state for medical care.
The Biden Administration has cancelled over $130 billion in student debt for 3.6 million borrowers. In early 2023, the Biden-Harris Administration announced a plan to provide millions of borrowers with more affordable monthly student loan payments through changes to income-driven repayment plans.
To help remedy our country’s failed approach to marijuana, including racial disparities, the President pardoned all prior federal offenses of simple marijuana possession and urged governors to do the same. The Administration is also initiating the process to review how marijuana is scheduled under federal law. Marijuana is currently a Schedule I drug, the same classification as for heroin and LSD and even higher than for fentanyl and methamphetamine.
This biography is a slightly modified version of Biden's official White House biography and record.