The Life of Biden
Nov. 20, 1942 — Joseph Robinette Biden born to car salesman Joseph R. Biden Sr. and Catherine Eugenia Finnegan in Scranton, Pa.
1953 — Moves to Claymont, Del., with parents and three siblings.
1961 — Graduates from Archmere Academy in Claymont, where he was a standout athlete but stuttered and was reluctant to speak publicly, despite his fascination with politics.
1965 — Graduates from the University of Delaware, where he majored in political science and history.
Aug. 27, 1966 — Marries New York native Neilia Hunter after meeting her two years earlier on a spring break trip in the Bahamas.
1968 — Graduates from Syracuse University School of Law. Begins work at Wilmington law firm and as a public defender. Admitted to Delaware bar a year later.
November 1970 — Elected to New Castle Town Council at 28.
November 1972 — Just short of his 30th birthday, Biden narrowly defeats Republican incumbent J. Caleb Boggs to become the fifth-youngest senator in history.
Dec. 18, 1972 — While Biden is in Washington, his wife and three children are involved in a car crash while Christmas shopping not far from their home in Delaware. Neilia and young daughter Naomi are killed. Two sons, Beau and Hunter, are critically injured but survive after lengthy hospitalizations.
Jan. 5, 1973 — Sworn in as senator at his sons’ bedside.
January 1975 — Appointed to Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
June 17, 1977 — Marries Jill Tracy Jacobs, a teacher from Delaware, following a two-year courtship. The couple have a daughter, Ashley, born in 1981.
November 1978 — Easily defeats Republican James H. Baxter Jr. for reelection.
November 1984 — Easily defeats Republican John M. Burris for reelection.
June 9, 1987 — Announces presidential candidacy at Wilmington’s train station, vowing to reverse Reagan-era policies.
September 1987 — Accused of plagiarizing speech by British Labour leader Neil Kinnock. Later claims he had often used the quote with attribution and simply forgot to credit Kinnock on the day he was videotaped. Days later, it’s discovered that he plagiarized a law review article in a class paper as a Syracuse law student. Biden also falsely claims he graduated in the "top half" of his class, when he finished 76th in a class of 85.
Oct. 23, 1987 — After a contentious set of confirmation hearings chaired by Biden, the U.S. Senate rejects the Supreme Court nomination of Robert H. Bork.
November 1990 — Wins reelection to the U.S. Senate with 63 percent of the vote.
October 1991 — Presides over the confirmation hearings of Clarence Thomas, drawing criticism from Democrats for his performance.
Sept. 13, 1994 — President Bill Clinton signs the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, a massive anti-crime bill Biden helped write. The so-called Biden Crime Bill included the Violence Against Women Act, authored by Biden.
November 1996 — Wins reelection to the U.S. Senate with 60 percent of the vote.
June 2001 — When Vermont Sen. Jim Jeffords leaves the Republican Party, Biden becomes chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He loses the position when the GOP retakes the Senate in the 2002 elections.
September 2002 — Biden and Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, co-author an alternative version of the Iraq war resolution that would have restricted the president’s war-making authority. It fails.
Oct. 11, 2002 — Biden votes to authorize the use of force in Iraq.
November 2002 — Wins reelection to the U.S. Senate with 58 percent of the vote.
Aug. 11, 2003 — Announces he will not run for president in 2004, saying his odds would be too much of a “long shot.”
Jan. 4, 2007 — With the swearing-in of the new Congress, Biden returns to his position as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Jan. 31, 2007 — Begins his candidacy for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination amid a field already crowded with high-profile candidates.
Jan. 3, 2008 — Drops out of presidential race after placing fifth in the Iowa caucuses, winning only 1 percent of the vote.
Aug. 23, 2008 — Joins Barack Obama on the Democratic ticket.
The Life of Biden
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0808/12745.html
