Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., the 46th president of the United States, was born November 20, 1942, at St. Mary's Hospital in Scranton, Pennsylvania, to Catherine Eugenia "Jean" Biden (née Finnegan) and Joseph Robinette Biden Sr. The oldest child in a Catholic family, Biden has a sister, Valerie, and two brothers, Francis and James.
Biden's father had once led an affluent life, but suffered financial setbacks soon after Biden was born, and for several years the family lived with Biden's maternal grandparents. Beginning in 1953, the family lived in an apartment in Claymont, Delaware, before moving to a house in Wilmington, Delaware. Biden's father later became a successful used-car salesman, maintaining the family in a middle-class lifestyle. At Archmere Academy, Biden himself was class president in his junior and senior years. He graduated from Archmere in 1961. At the University of Delaware, Biden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1965 with a double major in history and political science.
In 1966, Biden married Neilia Hunter, a student at Syracuse University. They had three children: Beau, Robert Hunter, and Naomi Christina "Amy". In 1968, Biden earned a Juris Doctor degree from the university's College of Law, ranked 76th in his class of 85 students. He was admitted to the Delaware bar in 1969 and practiced as a lawyer before running for political office. On December 18, 1972, Biden's wife and daughter died in a car crash. He came close to resigning from the U.S. Senate, to which he had recently been elected for the first time that year. Nearly five years later, Biden married Jill Jacobs—they have one daughter together, Ashley.
Early life and education
Heritage and childhood
Biden was born on November 20, 1942, at St. Mary's Hospital in Scranton, Pennsylvania, to Catherine Eugenia "Jean" Biden (née Finnegan) and Joseph Robinette Biden Sr. He was the first of four siblings in a Catholic family, with a sister, Valerie, and two brothers, James and Frank, following. Biden's mother was of Irish descent, with roots variously attributed to County Louth or County Londonderry, while his father had English, French, and Irish ancestry. His maternal great-grandfather, Edward Francis Blewitt, was a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate.
Biden's father had led an affluent lifestyle as a young adult, in part due to working as an executive for, and experiencing the largess of, the Sheene Armor Company. The Sheene Company was a business, focusing on selling water resistant graves, which subsequently secured a number of government contracts during World War II to manufacture plastic armor for ships. Very early in Biden's life the family relocated to a suburb outside Boston, where his father was running the company's branch office there. The company was run by Biden Sr.'s uncle, Bill Sheene, Sr. Biden Sr, and his cousin, Bill Sheene Jr., were close.
After the war was over, the business failed, and several attempts by Biden's father to start his own businesses faltered. Jean Biden took their children back to Scranton in 1948, and Biden Sr. soon followed. For several years, the family had to live with Biden's maternal grandparents, the Finnegans. Biden Jr. attended St. Paul's School, a Catholic primary school in Scranton. He made several lifelong friends in Scranton, who describe "file drawers full of memories" of childhood antics and escapades. But when the Scranton area fell into economic decline during the 1950s, Biden's father could not find sustained work.
In 1953, the Biden family moved into an apartment in Claymont, Delaware. The next year the Bidens relocated to the Village of Arden, an art colony. The year after that, they moved to Wilmington, Delaware. Joe Biden Sr. became a successful used car salesman, and the family's circumstances were middle class. Biden Jr. attended two more Catholic primary schools: Holy Rosary School in Claymont and then St. Helena's Elementary School in Wilmington. At several times during his youth, Biden considered becoming a priest.
High school
Biden attended the Archmere Academy in Claymont where he was a standout halfback/wide receiver in the high school football team. Scoring ten touchdowns, he helped lead a perennially losing team to an undefeated season in his senior year. His coach, who would be inducted into the Delaware Sports Hall of Fame, subsequently said of Biden, "He was a skinny kid, but he was one of the best pass receivers I had in 16 years as a coach." Biden played as an outfielder on the school's baseball team as well, becoming a starter in his senior year albeit batting in the bottom half of the order.