Joe Biden, U.S. Senator for Delaware

Joe Biden Timeline

1940

November 20, 1942
Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the first of Joe and Jean Biden's four children.

1950

Joe Biden at 10Summer 1953
Biden family moves from Scranton to Brookview neighborhood in Claymont, Delaware.


Joe Biden Yearbook photoSeptember 1957
Joe enrolls at Archmere Academy.


1960

June 1965
Joe graduates from the University of Delaware with a double major in History and Political Science and enrolls in Syracuse University Law School.

August 27, 1966
Joe marries the former Neilia Hunter.

June 1968
After graduating from law school, Joe begins work as a trial attorney at a law firm in Wilmington, Delaware and serves as a public defender.

February 3, 1969
Birth of Joe and Neilia's first child, Joseph R. "Beau" Biden, III.

1970

Joe Biden's 30th BirthdayFebruary 4, 1970
Birth of Joe and Neilia's second child, Hunter.


November, 1970
Elected to New Castle County Council.

November 8, 1971
Birth of third child, Naomi Christina.

November, 1972
Joe elected as Delaware's U.S. Senator, beating an incumbent Republican.  At age 29, Joe was the 6th-youngest U.S. Senator ever.

December 18, 1972
Joe's wife and three children are in an automobile accident while Christmas shopping. Neilia and Naomi suffer fatal injuries, while Beau and Hunter are critically injured but make full recoveries.

Joe Biden with Beau and HunterJanuary 5, 1973
After consistent lobbying by Hubert Humphrey and Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield urging him not to resign, Joe is sworn in to the United States Senate at Beau and Hunter's bedside in Wilmington, Delaware.


January, 1975
Joe becomes a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which he later chairs.

June 17, 1977
Joe, Beau, Hunter and Jill
Joe marries Jill Tracy Jacobs, a school teacher. 


January, 1977
Joe becomes a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which he later chairs from 1987 to 1994.

November, 1978
Campaign Stage photo
Wins reelection to U.S. Senate.


1980

Joe Biden with AshleyJune 8, 1981
Birth of Joe and Jill's daughter, Ashley.


November, 1984
Re-elected to U.S. Senate.

June 9, 1987
Announces candidacy for the 1988 Democratic Nomination for President of the United States. 


February 11, 1988
Two aneurysms are diagnosed in Joe's brain and he undergoes successful emergency surgery.

1990

November, 1990
Wins re-election to U.S. Senate.

September, 1991
Joe begins teaching constitutional law as an adjunct professor at Widener University Law School.

November, 1996
Re-elected to U.S. Senate.

Biden on Senate FloorMay 11, 1999
Joe casts 10,000th vote on the Senate floor.


2000

November, 2002
Wins reelection to U.S. Senate.

Biden for President 08January 31, 2007
Joe announces his bid for the 2008 Democratic Nomination for President of the United States.


Book Cover: Promises to Keep: On Life and PoliticsAugust 1, 2007
Joe releases his memoir, "Promises to Keep: On Life and Politics."