We are living through a battle for the soul of this nation.

Joe Biden, April 25, 2019

Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. was born November 20, 1942 in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He was 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.

In 2008, Biden was chosen as the running mate of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. Obama and Biden were victorious in 2008 and 2012. President Biden represented Delaware for 36 years in the U.S. Senate before becoming the 47th Vice President of the United States.

At age 29, President Biden became one of the youngest people ever elected to the United States Senate. Weeks after his Senate election, tragedy struck the Biden family when his wife Neila and daughter Naomi were killed shopping for a Christmas tree in an auto accident. His sons Hunter and Beau were also critically injured.

Biden was sworn into the U.S. Senate at his sons' hospital bedsides. He began commuting from Wilmington to Washington every day, first by car, and then by train, in order to be with his family and 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.