Barack Obama was the forty-fourth president of the United States and the first African American president.

Fun Facts

• Barack Obama was born August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii.
• Obama’s mother was a white American; his father, a black man from Kenya.
• Barack grew up mostly in Hawaii. His parents divorced in 1964 and Barack’s father returned to Kenya. Barack lived in Indonesia for four years with his mother and stepfather, later returning to Hawaii where he lived with his grandparents. He attended a college preparatory school there and moved to Los Angeles after high school.
• He attended college at Columbia University and later got a law degree from Harvard.
• After Barack graduated from college, he moved to Chicago. There he became a civil rights attorney and also taught law at the University of Chicago.
• He married Michelle Robinson in 1992. The couple has two daughters, Malia and Sasha.
• He was elected U.S. president in 2008, after beating out Hillary Clinton and John McCain.
• Barack Obama is a Democrat. During his presidency, he focused on health insurance reform, environmental issues, and equal treatment for LGBT people.
• He supported gun control and supported a ban on assault weapons.
• Barack enjoys sports and likes the Chicago White Socks. He plays basketball with his friends.
• Barack is a devout Christian. His father was an atheist; his mother was spiritual, but wasn’t interested in religion so Barack didn’t grow up going to church. He became religious as an adult.

Learn More

Watch a short video about Barack Obama’s presidency.