President Joe Biden’s Life in Photos
Check out these candid pictures of the 46th president throughout his life.
Joe Biden—full name Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr.—was the 46th and president of the United States. When he took office in 2021 at age 78, he became the oldest president in U.S. history.
Biden’s ascent to the White House was the culmination of a decades-long career in government, which included serving as vice president during President Barack Obama’s two terms. He was also a Senator from Delaware for 36 years.
“It’s been the honor of my life to serve as your president,” Biden said in July, shortly after he decided to drop out of the 2024 presidential election.
Let’s take a look back at Joe Biden’s life in photos:
1951
Joe was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 1942. He’s pictured here at age 9 behind his siblings.
1965
In 1965, Biden graduated from the University of Delaware with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He double majored in history and political science. While on campus, Biden served in student government and played on the freshman football team.
1965
A young Joe Biden at age 25.
1968
In 1968, Biden graduated from the Syracuse University College of Law, earning his Juris Doctor degree.
1972
Joe married Neilia Hunter in 1966. Here, he’s pictured on this 30th birthday with Neilia and their second child, Hunter.
1972
Shortly after Biden was elected senator, Neilia and their infant daughter, Amy, tragically died in a car accident. Their other two children, Beau and Hunter, survived. Joe was sworn in at his sons’ hospital bedside.
1974
During his time in the Senate, Biden commuted from Wilmington to Washington every day.
1983
Biden was re-elected to the Senate six times, and currently holds the record as Delaware’s longest-serving senator.
1987
In 1987, Biden ran for president for the first time. He’s pictured here with his family: Hunter, Beau, daughter Ashley, and his second wife Jill Biden, whom he married in 1977.
1987
Biden later withdrew his candidacy for president that same year. Soon, the senator would confront a major health emergency.
1988
In 1988, Biden had surgery to treat an aneurysm and was also hospitalized with a pulmonary embolism, keeping him out of the Senate for seven months. Here, he’s seen on the train platform in Wilmington, Delaware, returning to work.
1990
Biden’s family is Catholic and of Irish descent, and he is proud to be an Irish American. Here, he’s wearing a green tie in honor of St. Patrick's Day.
1991
Biden, a longtime member of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, chaired it from 1987 to 1995, and presided over the Supreme Court confirmation hearings of Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas.
1994
In 1994, Biden helped pass the Violence Against Women Act, described by the Biden White House as a “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.”
1998
During his tenure in the Senate, Biden was also a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, chairing it from 2001 to 2003 and again from 2007 to 2009.
2001
Biden’s aviator sunglasses, which he has worn since he was a lifeguard in college, are part of his signature style.
2003
Biden, then the ranking Democrat of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, voted to authorize the war in Iraq, but years later called his vote a mistake.
2007
Biden decided to run for president again in January 2007, before ultimately dropping out of the race a year later following the Iowa caucus.
2008
Seven months later, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois selected Biden as his running mate. During their first joint appearance, Obama said, “He is still that scrappy kid from Scranton who beat the odds, the dedicated family man and committed Catholic who knows every conductor on that Amtrak train to Wilmington.”
Emily Burack (she/her) is the Deputy Digital Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, celebrities, the royals, and a wide range of other topics. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Instagram, Twitter, and other social media platforms.
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