In 2009, shortly after Obama took office, residents in many countries expressed a sharp increase in confidence in the ability of the U.S. president to do the right thing in international affairs. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. See all videos for this article. The youngest person to assume the presidency was Theodore Roosevelt, who, at the age of 42, succeeded to the office after the assassination of William McKinley. He held positions on the Foreign Relations and Veterans’ Affairs committees as well. Barack Obama, in full Barack Hussein Obama II, (born August 4, 1961, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.), 44th president of the United States (2009–17) and the first African American to hold the office. Franklin Pierce: 48: 101: 8. Barack Obama was the 44th President of the United States. Barack’s mother remarried and the young Obama traveled to live in Indonesia with his mom and stepfather. On November 4, 2008, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois defeats Senator John McCain of Arizona to become the 44th U.S. president, and the first … How Many National Emergencies Did Barack Obama Declare. Born to a white American mother and a black Kenyan father, he is the first African-American to hold the office. Obama was 47 years, 169 days old when he was inaugurated. Senator Barack Obama made it official a few weeks ago that he is running for the presidency in 2008. Concerned about the effect the campaign would have on their young daugthers, Michelle was initially reluctant to support the idea of her husbands run for the presidency. Barack Obama would face off against Senator John McCain in the 2008 general election. In 1971, Barack returned to the United States to attend school and he lived with his maternal grandparents, Madelyn and Stanley Dunham. It helped elect the first female African American Senator. He campaigned on change and hope and altering the status quo of Washington. Theodore Roosevelt, at age 49, is the youngest individual to become the oldest living president; Jimmy Carter became the oldest to acquire the distinction at age 94. Barack Obama was the 44th president of the United States, and the first African American to serve in the office. He is the first black chief executive of the world's most powerful nation. Barack Obama: 47: 169: 6. Barack Obama was born on August 4th, 1961 and he was inaugurated on January 20th, 2009 when he was 47 years, 5 months and 16 days old. James K. Polk had the shortest retirement of any president, dying barely three months after leaving office at age 53 (the youngest president to die of natural causes). He was born to his mother, Ann Dunham, and his father. He is 53 years old today. Obama was 47 years, 169 days old when he was inaugurated. © 2020 Black Sands Media - All Rights Reserved. Grover Cleveland: 47: 351: 7. [1][2] The specific years and days median is 55 years and 355 days, which falls midway between how old Grover Cleveland was in 1893 and Richard Nixon was in 1969. They had a major influence on the young student and his view of the world and politics, as did his mother. He was immediately heralded as a fresh new face that could ultimately change the country. Obama was born on August 4, 1961, at Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children in Honolulu, Hawaii. Obama became the 44th president, and the first African American to be elected to that office. Born on Aug. 4, 1961, the President was 47 years old in 2009. After high school, Obama attended Occidental College in Los Angeles and then transferred to Columbia University in New York City, where he studied political science. Obama was sworn in on January 20, 2009. During his time in the Senate, Obama worked across party aisles on issues such as immigration, nuclear proliferation, warrantless wiretapping, and more. This is a graphical lifespan timeline of the presidents of the United States. An Ivy League graduate, she built a successful career, first as a lawyer, and then in the private sector, which she maintained throughout her husbands early political career. Barack Obama: 47: 169: 6. Who Are Barack & Michelle Obama’s Closest Friends? Obama married Michelle LaVaughn Robinson—a lawyer from Chicago he met while he was working in … He is the only president born outside the contiguous 48 states. His mother, Ann Dunham (1942–1995), was born in Wichita, Kansas; she was mostly of English descent, with some German, Irish, Scottish, Swiss, and Welsh ancestry. He had a confused sense of identity that he was trying to sort out. List of Presidents of the United States by age, "Biden Set To Become The Oldest President In U.S. History", "Biden Is the Oldest President to Take the Oath", "Biden to Become Oldest President Ever at Inauguration", "What happens if Joe Biden dies in office? [9] The youngest living president is Barack Obama, age 59. First elected to the presidency in 2008, he won a second term in 2012. President Bush's energy policies weren't responsible for gasoline prices being below $2/gallon in 2009. When President William McKinley was assassinated in 1901, Theodore Roosevelt became the youngest president ever. But he declared his goal of becoming president when he … 2009 . On March 23, 2010, the Affordable Care Act revolutionized healthcare, in … The youngest to be elected president was John F. Kennedy, who was 43 years and 236 days old at his inauguration on January 20, 1961. But how old compared to other leaders? [8] Jimmy Carter's retirement, now 40 years, is the longest in American presidential history. mark the inauguration date of a president older than any living ex-president. His mother was from Kansas and his father was from Africa. He was 47 years, 5 months, and 16 days old when he took the oath in 2009. Bush.). Correction: The original version of this story misstated President Obama’s birthday. In 2009, Obama became the fourth president to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. In the early 2000s, after he became married to lawyer Michelle and the birth of his two daughters, Sasha and Malia, Barack became more interested in local politics. Their fight for the Democratic nomination would prove painfully long and drawn out but eventually, Obama succeeded and became the official nominee of the party, the first African-American to do so. Albeit the first black president of the Harvard Law Review. 41. As a United States Senator, he was making $174,000 per year. read more Barack Obama was 47 years old when he was sworn in as the United States president on January 20, 2009. Herbert Hoover held the distinction for the longest period of any, from the death of Calvin Coolidge in January 1933 until his own death 31 years later. As president, Obama oversaw the passage of several notable pieces of legislation, including the Affordable Care Act (also … ", "Jimmy Carter, unable to make inauguration, saluted by President Biden in remarks", "Presidents and Vice Presidents Who Lived Into Their 90s in American History", "Ronald Reagan Post-Presidency Chronology", National Archives and Records Administration, Unsuccessful major party presidential candidates, Unsuccessful major party vice presidential candidates, U.S. Senate vice presidential bust collection, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_presidents_of_the_United_States_by_age&oldid=1016474317, Lists relating to the United States presidency, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 7 April 2021, at 11:09. When re-elected he became the second President in history to take the oath of office four times, after Franklin Roosevelt. James … Updated January 30, 2021. She was the first African American first lady, and during her time in that post she notably supported military families and promoted healthy eating. He was living in Chicago and was thinking of running for office. He was born to an American mother of European descent and an African father. ", "Theodore Roosevelt remains a giant among presidents", "Joe Biden is old. Bill Clinton: 46: 154: 4. Of the remaining living presidents, Obama is the youngest at 59 years of age. Marriage. On the other extreme, Ronald Reagan and Joe Biden were each born before four of their predecessors. In the end, it was enough to get him over the top and he easily beat McCain in November 2008. Barack Obama was 47 years old when he was sworn in as the United States president on January 20, 2009. Obama did not spend much time with his father growing up. At age 96, Jimmy Carter is also the oldest living president[2] as well as the nation's longest-lived president. Aug. 4, 1961: Obama is born at Kapi'olani Maternity & Gynecological Hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii. Ulysses S. Grant: 46: 236: 5. [10] The first to do so, John Adams, was the longest-lived president for nearly two centuries, from 1803 until Ronald Reagan surpassed his lifespan, in October 2001. Barack Obama: 47 years, 169 days Franklin Pierce: 48 years, 101 days James A. Garfield: 49 years, 105 days James K. Polk: 49 years, 122 days Millard Fillmore: 50 years, 183 days Eleven presidents have held the distinction while in office. U.S. Reagan was born before Richard Nixon (1 year, 11 months, and 7 days), Gerald Ford (2 years, 5 months, and 8 days), John F. Kennedy (6 years, 3 months, and 23 days), and Jimmy Carter (13 years, 7 months, and 25 days). In 2003, Obama began running for the U.S. Senate seat in Illinois. Obama initially faced a strong challenger in his opponent, Senator Hillary Clinton. He passed away in 1982 in an automobile accident. Cleveland was president for 2 nonconsecutive terms; this is his post presidency retirement counting only from after his second term (1897–1908). In the cases of George Washington, William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, and Ronald Reagan this occurred upon their inauguration as they were older than their living predecessors (or, in Washington's case, had no predecessors). The second table includes those presidents who had the distinction among their peers of being the oldest living president, and charts both when they became and ceased to be the oldest living. Barack Obama (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States, the first Black man to do so. [2][4], The president born after the greatest number of his successors is John F. Kennedy. Barack Obama was born on August 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii, to a White mother and a Black father. The youngest person to become president through the process of presidential succession was Theodore Roosevelt, who succeeded to the office at the age of 42 years and 322 days, after the assassination of William McKinley on September 14, 1901. However, in the 2010 mid-term elections, the Democrats lost control of the House of Representatives, thus affecting Obama’s future domestic policy agenda. Obama’s youth set him apart and helped him connect with younger voters, who supported him in large numbers. In 1992, he ran a voter registration campaign which secured 100,000 new voters, mostly from the African American community. Cleveland was president for 2 nonconsecutive terms; this is his first post presidential retirement between his terms (1889–1893). He was 47 … read more Barack Hussein Obama II was born at the Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children in Honolulu, Hawaii on August 4, 1961. In the cases of John Adams, Ulysses S. Grant, Theodore Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover and Richard Nixon, this happened at the same time as their becoming the only living president; in the cases of Andrew Jackson and Benjamin Harrison, the only other living president at the time was a younger predecessor, John Quincy Adams and Grover Cleveland respectively. Barack Obama was 47 years of age when first elected President and at the time of his first inauguration, making him the fifth-youngest U. S. President (after T. Roosevelt, Kennedy, Clinton and Grant). They are listed in order of office, with Grover Cleveland listed in the order of his first presidency. Barack Obama is the fifth-youngest president in U.S. history. Unlike trump, who believes you become president when you win an election, Obama knew you had to be inaugurated first. It was there that he learned about different cultures and became adjusted to the realities of the world outside America. President Years Days; 1. (Nine of these individuals have also had the distinction of being the oldest living U.S. vice president: John Adams, Martin Van Buren, Millard Fillmore, Andrew Johnson, Harry S. Truman, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and George H. W. His race was just one of the reasons why he was so enthusiastically supported by many. [1][4], Assassinated at age 46, John F. Kennedy was the youngest president at the end of his tenure, and his lifespan was the shortest of any president. For the first time, Obama made the news nationally. Barack Obama was born on August 4th, 1961 and he was inaugurated on January 20th, 2009 when he was 47 years, 5 months and 16 days old. His presidency officially started on January 20, 2017, when he was inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States, succeeding Barack Obama. His father has another family back home and became estranged from Barack Jr. Barack Obama Sr. only visited his son once more, in the year 1971. See How President Obama Has Aged Since His 2009 Address President Barack Obama in his 2009 address to a joint session of congress, left, and in the 2016 State of the Union address, right. At the time of his oath, he was 47 years and 169 days old. President Obama is one of the most celebrated presidents in recent history and most notably is the first African American to achieve the highest level of office in the United States. The specific years and days median is 55 years and 355 days, which falls midway between how old Grover Cleveland was in 1893 and Richard Nixon was in 1969. He was born after four of his successors: Lyndon B. Johnson (8 years, 9 months, and 2 days); Ronald Reagan (6 years, 3 months, and 23 days); Richard Nixon (4 years, 4 months, and 16 days); and Gerald Ford (3 years, 10 months, and 15 days). He was elected Nov. 4, 2008, and took office as the nation's 44th president on Jan. 20, 2009. Ulysses S. Grant: 46: 236: 5. Since he spent four years there, he acquired around $696,000 over the course of his term. The following chart shows presidents by their age (living presidents in green), with the years of their presidency in blue. He had prevailed and made history as the country’s first Black president and one of its youngest. The median age at inauguration of incoming U.S. presidents is 55 years. Prior to that, he was a civil rights lawyer, constitutional law professor, and U.S. senator from Illinois. Michelle Obama, American first lady (2009–17), the wife of Barack Obama, 44th president of the United States. He was subsequently elected to a second term over former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney. His age makes him the fifth-youngest man to take the oath of office. Barack Obama was the 44th president of the United States and held the position for two consecutive terms. Theodore Roosevelt: 42: 322: 2. The young Obama became interested in multiple causes at this time and started to study politics and philosophy and race relations. In 1990, Obama became President. The race for the senate seat was intense but Obama won in a landslide in March 2004, making him a rising star in the Democratic Party and possible presidential candidate. Barack Obama first met his future wife Michelle when he became a summer associate at the law firm Sidley Austin LLP. The campaign was long and heated and resulted in record numbers of voters. [11][12] The six nonagenarian presidents, arranged by lifespan are: Of the 45 people who have served as president, 25 have become the oldest such individual of their time, with one, William Howard Taft, doing so twice. Obama immediately became popular among residents and was especially well regarded among those opposed to the ensuing war in Iraq, of which Obama was a vocal critic. Both days were monumental Obama, and for the country. On three occasions the oldest living president lost the distinction not by his death, but by the inauguration of a president who was older: Theodore Roosevelt (born 1858) to William Howard Taft (born 1857) in 1909; Taft to Woodrow Wilson (born 1856) in 1913 (though Taft later regained the honor, as he outlived Wilson); and Richard Nixon (born 1913) to Ronald Reagan (born 1911) in 1981. Unlike trump, who believes you become president when you win an election, Obama knew you had to be inaugurated first. In 1979, he was an 18-year-old freshman who liked Earth, Wind & Fire and wore silly hats. His appeal to the African-American and youth communities never wavered and he remained popular throughout his presidency. She was assigned to be his mentor. John F. Kennedy: 43: 236: 3. Grover Cleveland: 47: 351: 7. In November, he defeats Republican presidential nominee John McCain to become the first African-American president of the United States of America and the 44th president of the country. Altogether, six U.S. presidents have lived into their 90s. Other accomplishments of President Obama include the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009; Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010; American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012; ending the Iraqi War; and ordering the military operation that killed Osama bin Laden. The median age at inauguration of incoming U.S. presidents is 55 years. This is a list of presidents of the United States by age. Though his race and age and style made him popular with young, idealistic voters, Obama at first had trouble connecting to older voters and women. Obama remained popular with his base and especially young voters and the optimistic Americans looking for a change. Biography of Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States Early Life. Franklin Pierce: 48: 101: 8. Theodore Roosevelt: 42: 322: 2. Eight years ago, Barack Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States.Today, Americans will choose their next President – a woman, or a so-called woman hater. During these years, Obama struggled with his identity and race and turned to drink and drugs too often. On February 10, 2007, Barack Obama announced his intention to run for President of the United States in 2008. James Garfield: 49: 105: … However, the race for the White House was fraught with challenges. The salary compensation the President salary has received for his first term is $1.6 million.