Joe Biden went from being one of the youngest Americans ever elected to the US Senate to the country’s oldest serving president.
Biden, who turned 82 today, represented Delaware for 36 years in the Senate before serving as the 47th Vice President during Barack Obama‘s Administration, where he helped secure passage of the Affordable Care Act and the Violence Against Women Act.
He was elected president in 2020, following Donald Trump‘s first term in office. Biden campaigned on a platform of restoring the Soul of America, but his presidency was riddled with gaffes and questions about his mental fitness.
The President dropped his re-election bid in July, leaving his Vice President Kamala Harris with just months to carry out her own campaign and rally support from voters. She ultimately lost the White House to Trump in an unprecedented landslide election victory.
Biden’s storied political career, which has seen his second wife Jill Biden stand by his side, began in the late 1960s after he graduated from the University of Delaware and Syracuse Law School and served on the New Castle County Council.
He was elected to the Senate at the age of 29 and just weeks later his wife Neilia and daughter Naomi were killed in a car accident that left his sons Hunter Biden and Beau Biden were critically injured. He was sworn in as a senator at his sons’ hospital bedsides.
Biden remarried in 1977 and he and Jill welcomed their daughter Ashley Biden in 1980.
MailOnline takes a look at the highs and lows of Biden’s private life and public service as he turns 82 today…
1950s: The eldest of four, Joseph Biden (second from right) – born in 1942 – is pictured with his siblings and mother Catherine Eugenia Finnegan Biden at their family home in Scranton, Pennsylvania in the 1950s
1951: Joe Biden, age 9, is pictured with his brother and sister. Joe has hailed his parents as being his biggest supporters and during a White House speech in 2023 said: ‘My dad used to say, ‘Family is the beginning, the middle, and the end”
1965: Joe Biden, as pictured in the University of Delaware’s 1965 yearbook. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1965 with a double major in history and political science
1967: Joe Biden is pictured at the age of 25. During this time he was studying at Syracuse Law School. Biden graduated 76th in a law school class of 85. A law school transcript showed he made little progress in class standing through the three-year course, ranking 80 out of 100 in the first semester of the first year, and 79th out of 87 the second semester of his second year
UNKNOWN: This image of younger Joe Biden celebrating his birthday was shared on social media in 2016. The poster even revealed that she had the image of the young Biden on her phone’s lock screen
1972: Joe Biden is pictured with his sons, Hunter, left, and Beau, circa 1972. Beau died in May 2015 after a battle with cancer. Hunter has been the subject of several scandals. He was convicted of three federal firearms-related felony charges in June 2024 after he had admitted to ‘illegally owning a gun while a drug user’. A federal criminal investigation was launched into Hunter’s tax affairs in late 2018 and, in September 2024, he pled guilty to all of the tax charges
1972: This photograph of Joe Biden, 29, and his young family appeared on a postcard that was used for Biden’s first campaign for the US Senate. Pictured are (left to right) his son Hunter, wife Neilia and infant daughter Naomi, and Joe and Beau Biden
SUMMER 1972: Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) carries both of his sons, Joseph R. III, left, and Robert H., during an appearance at the Democratic state convention in 1972. At center is his wife Neilia Biden, who was killed in an auto crash, Dec. 20, 1972. With them are Governor-elect Sherman W. Tribbitt and his wife, Jeanne
NOVEMBER 1972: Joseph Biden, wearing a gray suit and pale yellow shirt with a tie, and Neilia Biden, wearing a purple and mauve shirt dress with matching sunglasses, pose for portraits as Joe Biden discusses his future plans and goals as Senator of Delaware on November 10, 1972 in Washington, DC
NOVEMBER 1972: Senator-elect Joseph Biden and wife Nelia cut his 30th birthday cake at a party in Wilmington, Delaware on November 20th. His son, Hunter waits for the first piece. Biden by becoming 30 fulfills the constitutional requirement of Senators being 30 years of age when they take office
DECEMBER 1972: Senator-elect Joseph Biden, of Delaware, is seen here after he took his oath of citizenship as he checks in at the office of the Secretary of the Senate. Biden, who had just turned thirty, would become the youngest Senator in Congress when he took his seat in the 93rd Congress on January 3, 1973
JANUARY 1973: Four-year-old Beau Biden (front) plays near his father, Joe Biden (center) as she is being sworn in as the US senator from Delaware, by Senate Secretary Frank Valeo (left) in a ceremony in a Wilmington hospital. Beau was injured in an accident that killed his mother and sister in December 1972. Biden’s father-in-law, Robert Hunter, holds the Bible
DECEMBER 1974: Senator Joseph Biden (second left) meets with Vice Presidential nominee Nelson Rockefeller (center) and a group of fellow Democratic Senators including James Abouresk, South Dakota (left) and William Hathaway, Maine, (right) at the US Capitol
FEBRUARY 1978: Senator Joseph Biden points out a friend in the crowd at the Padua Academy to President Jimmy Carter during a fundraiser. Carter spent the evening in Wilmington campaigning for Biden who is running for a second term
APRIL 1984: Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.), smiles while talking with reporters shortly before his appearance on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ program in Washington, DC
JANUARY 1985: Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., holds his daughter Ashley while taking a mock oath of office from Vice President George Bush during a ceremony, Jan. 3, 1985, on Capitol Hill, in Washington. Biden’s sons Beau and Hunt are pictured holding the bible during the ceremony
JUNE 1987: Sen. Joe Biden waves from his train as he leaves Wilmington, Delaware after announcing his candidacy for president. At right, his son Beau carries Biden’s daughter Ashley. Pictured to Biden’s right is his wife Jill and son Hunter
JUNE 1987: Sen. Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden are pictured together after he announces his presidential bid
JUNE 1987: Senator Joe Biden, 44, is seen holding his daughter Ashley Biden, six, outside Dirksen Senate office building in DC after having announced his candidacy for President in Wilmington, Delaware earlier that morning. His son Hunter Biden, 17, stood to his left. Biden would ultimately withdrawal his nomination from the presidential race just three months later, saying his candidacy had been overrun by ‘the exaggerated shadow’ of his past mistakes
SEPTEMBER 1987: During a press conference, US Senator Joe Biden announces his withdrawal from the race for the Democratic Party nomination’s for President of the United States in DC. Beside him is his wife, teacher Jill Biden
SEPTEMBER 1988: Senator Joe Biden seen on the on the metro liner from Wilmington, Delaware to Washington DC. He was returning to work in the Senate having suffered an aneurysm, which was life threatening
SEPTEMBER 1988: Senator Joe Biden is pictured in his office . He had just returned at this point to his duties after having suffered a life threatening aneurysm
SEPTEMBER 1988: Sen. Joe Biden stands by a large window in the Senate office buildings, just down from his office
OCTOBER 1991: Sen. Joe Biden is pictured at the Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC. He is chairing the Senate Judiciary Committee, during a confirmation hearing on Judge Clarence Thomas’ nomination to the Supreme Court
OCTOBER 1991: Professor Anita F. Hill, right, is sworn-in to testify before the United States Senate Judiciary Committee on the confirmation of Judge Clarence Thomas to be Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court by Chairman Joseph Biden
APRIL 1993: Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del. stands in front of a Danish armored personnel carrier at the UN-controlled Sarajevo Airport, making a statement about his trip to the besieged Bosnian capital. In May, after Joe Biden tripped up his boss by voicing support for same-sex marriage while the president remained on the fence, there was speculation about whether the remarks were spontaneous or deliberate. But to those who know Biden, there was no doubt. He was just speaking his mind
JANUARY 2002: Sen. Joseph Biden, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee meets with Hamid Karzai, the new Prime Minister of Afghanistan’s interim government during his visit to Kabul, Afghanistan
FEBRUARY 2007: Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden campaigns at the Story County Democrats Soup Supper February 16, 2007 in Ames, Iowa. The Democratic senator from Delaware was making his first trip to Iowa as a 2008 presidential candidate
JANUARY 2008: Democratic presidential hopeful, Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., rests his head on the shoulder of his wife, Jill, as they stand in a hallway awaiting his introduction for a rally at the UAW Hall in Dubuque, Iowa, on the day of the Iowa caucus
AUGUST 2008: US Illinois Senator Barack Obama (R) waves to the crowds with Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden during the Democratic national convention in Denver, Colorado, Aug. 28, 2008. Obama accepted the Democratic presidential nomination as the national convention was concluded in Denver
NOVEMBER 2008: President-elect Barack Obama (L), his wife Michelle (2ndL), vice president-elect Joe Biden (R) and his wife Jill during an election night party in Chicago, Illinois
JULY 4, 2009: Vice President Joe Biden talks with his son US Army Capt. Beau Biden (left) at Camp Victory on America’s Independence Day near Baghdad, Iraq. Biden’s first visit to Iraq as the Vice President comes days after US forces pulled out from Iraq’s cities
MARCH 2010: Vice President Joe Biden whispers ‘This is a big f****** deal,’ to President Barack Obama after introducing Obama during the health care bill ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, March 23, 2010
FEBRUARY 2012: Joe and Jill Biden (left) posing with Beau and Hallie Biden (right) at the vice presidential residence. Hallie was married to Beau until his cancer death in 2015 and then had a relationship with Hunter Biden from March 2017 until 2019. In 2023 it emerged that Hallie received a $35,000 cut of $3million China deal made by Hunter’s associate
NOVEMBER 2012: Vice President Joe Biden, right, talks to President Barack Obama at their election night party in Chicago
JUNE 2015: Vice President Joe Biden, accompanied by his family, holds his hand over his heart as he watches an honor guard carry a casket containing the remains of his son, former Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, into St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church in Wilmington, Del., June 6, 2015, for funeral services. Standing alongside the vice president are Beau’s widow Hallie Biden, left, and daughter, Natalie. Beau Biden died of brain cancer May 30 at age 46
JANUARY 2017: President Barack Obama presents Vice President Joe Biden with the Presidential Medal of Freedom during a ceremony in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC. In a glowing tribute to the 74-year-old, Obama described him as a ‘lion of American history’ and ‘the best Vice President America has ever had’. Obama went on to pay tribute to him as an ‘extraordinary man’ with an ‘extraordinary career’ in public service. After a glowing speech, which reduced Biden to tears, he surprised him with the medal
JANUARY 2018: From left, Vice President Mike Pence, former VP Joe Biden, and Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., attend a swearing-in ceremony for Jones and and Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., in the Capitol’s Old Senate Chamber after the actual event on the senate floor on January 3, 2018
AUGUST 2020: Former Vice President Joe Biden, with Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., raise their arms up as fireworks go off in the background during the fourth day of the Democratic National Convention, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2020, at the Chase Center in Wilmington, Del. Looking on are Jill Biden, far left, and Harris’ husband Doug Emhoff, far right
JANUARY 11, 2021: President-elect Joe Biden (left) receives the second dose of a COVID-19 Vaccination from Chief Nurse Executive Ric Cuming (right) at Christiana Care Christiana Hospital in Newark, Delaware. Biden received the second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, three weeks after the first dose he had received a few days before Christmas in 2020. After he received the jab, Biden told reporters he had confidence in his COVID-19 combating team to be able to conduct a vaccine distribution blitz after he takes office on January 20th
AUGUST 2021: Joe Biden pulled all US troops out of Afghanistan in August 2021. The resulting chaos, with tens of thousands of foreign nationals and Afghans crowding into Kabul’s airport after the Taliban seized the city in August 2021, triggered the first crisis of the Biden administration. And it descended into tragedy when a suicide bomber killed 13 American service personnel and about 170 Afghans. In this image provided by the US Marine Corps, evacuees wait to board a Boeing C-17 Globemaster III during an evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan
JANUARY 20, 2021: Joe Biden, joined by Lady Jill Biden and their children Ashley Biden and Hunter Biden, takes the oath of office as President of the United States. Biden issued a call for unity and promised to govern for ‘all Americans’, seeking to move the nation beyond the presidency of Donald Trump and what he described as an attack on democracy itself in his first remarks to the nation as president. In a 22-minute address after he was sworn in 11 minutes early by Chief Justice John Roberts, Biden drew a sharp contrast between his presidency and the preceding four years, saying: ‘My whole soul is in this. I’ll keep everything I do in your service, thinking not of power but of possibilities, not of personal injuries but the public good’
FEBRUARY 2021: Joe Biden poses with the two first dogs in the Oval Office, saying his German Shepherds have ‘walk-in privileges’. The president tweeted the sweet image alongside Major and Champ, writing: ‘Not many people have Oval Office walk-in privileges. Happy to report that these two are on the list’
MARCH 2021: President Joe Biden grabs onto the railing after he stumbled while boarding Air Force One as he departs Washington on travel to Atlanta, Georgia to promote the $1.9 trillion coronavirus disease (COVID-19) aid package known as the American Rescue Plan, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland
JUNE 2022: Joe and Jill Biden went for a bike ride in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Biden came over to talk to press and people waiting nearby, but fell over on his bike. The secret service quickly helped him up. Biden then answered a few questions and poses for pics with his dog Commander before riding back home
JUNE 2022: President Joe Biden falls off his bicycle as he approaches well-wishers following a bike ride at Gordon’s Pond State Park in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware
JUNE 2023: President Joe Biden falls on stage during the 2023 United States Air Force Academy Graduation Ceremony at Falcon Stadium at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado
SEPTEMBER 2023: Vice President Kamala Harris reacts as President Joe Biden speaks during an event about gun safety in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, DC
SEPTEMBER 2023: President Joe Biden stumbles into pole and doesn’t shake Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s hand at the 78th United Nations General Assembly in New York City
MARCH 7, 2024: President Joe Biden is pictured with Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Mike Johnson during his State of the Union address. Biden began and ended his address with attacks on Donald Trump, coming out strong and aggressively against his Republican rival. Biden never said Trump’s name but it was clear who was referring to on more than a dozen occasions when he compared their visions for America. The president was in feisty mood, repeatedly engaging with Republican lawmakers who heckled him. He made only a few flubs but one was notable: he called murdered nursing student Laken Riley ‘Lincoln.’ In addition to his attacks on his rival, Biden also addressed one of voters’ biggest concerns about him, his age: ‘The issue facing our nation isn’t how old we are, it’s how old our ideas are.’ Biden’s speech took place under the shadow of the 2024 presidential election and it was peppered with politics. When he talked about reproductive rights, he noted how it has proved a winning issues for Democrats
MAY 6, 2024: President Joe Biden arrives for a ceremony with the United States Military Academy Army Black Knights football team in the East Room of the White House on May 6, 2024 in Washington, DC. During the event, Biden presented the Commander-in-Chief’s trophy to the United States Military Academy Army Black Knights, their first trophy since 2020
JUNE 27, 2024: Joe Biden is pictured during his car-crash debate with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. Biden’s poor performance in the debate ultimately led to calls for him to drop his re-election bid
JUNE 27, 2024: Democrat presidential candidate President Joe Biden listens as Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump speaks during their debate in Atlanta, Georgia
JULY 11, 2024: US President Joe Biden, right, and Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Ukraine’s president, shake hands at a bilateral meeting during the NATO Summit in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, July 11, 2024. President Joe Biden and NATO’s 31 other leaders had hoped their summit would celebrate fresh unity against Russia’s Vladimir Putin, send a warning to China and prove the alliance is as strong as ever in its 75th year, but the three days of pageantry will be overshadowed by domestic turmoil across the alliance
JULY 11, 2024: President Joe Biden introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as ‘President Putin’ in a brutal gaffe at the NATO summit with his political future hanging by a thread. The ailing 81-year-old facing mounting calls to drop out of the presidential race said: ‘Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin.’ The embarrassing flub in front of world leaders sparked gasps and those in the room had to shout the correct name
JULY 24, 2024: President Joe Biden addresses the nation from the Oval Office of the White House, explaining the reasons for abruptly ending his run for a second term after initially rejecting calls from some top Democrats to do so. He also outlined what he hoped to accomplish during his remaining months in office
JULY 24, 2024: President Joe Biden is pictured with First Lady Jill Biden following his prime-time address to the nation. The president’s historic decision to end his reelection bid, which came after weeks of calls from fellow Democrats to exit the race following a debate performance that fanned questions over his age and acuity, upended the presidential contest with just over 100 days until final votes are cast
JULY 26, 2024: President Joe Biden boards Marine One with his son Hunter Biden and sister Valerie Biden Owens at the White House, en route to Camp David. This photo was taken just five days after Biden announced he was dropping his bid for re-election
NOVEMBER 16, 2024: President Joe Biden (left) shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima, Peru
