Obama, Barack (1961–)

Barack Obama has been the junior Democratic senator from Illinois since January 4, 2005. He ran an active campaign as a Democratic presidential candidate in 2008, and many speculate that he could become the nation's first African American president.

Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. His father was from Kenya and his mother from Kansas. They divorced when Obama was 2 years old, and Barack spent his childhood in Indonesia with his mother and later in Hawaii with his maternal grandmother. After graduating from high school, Obama attended Occidental College in Los Angeles for 2 years and transferred to Columbia University, where he graduated in 1983. For several years he worked for a nonprofit organization, helping poor communities in Chicago, before studying law. After graduating from ...