Ever think to yourself as a kid, “Gee, I wonder where I’ll be when I’m 50?”
If you’re Barack Obama, the answer to that question turned out to be: “In the White House, at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, as the duly-elected President of the United States.”
In honor of Barack Obama’s 50th birthday today, here’s a look back at the birthdays he celebrated during other landmark years in his life.
Barack Obama turned…
-2 in 1959, the year Hawaii became a state, making the future Barack Obama eligible to be president.
0 on August 4th, 1961, the day of his birth.
6 the year he moved to Indonesia with his mother and her new husband, Lolo Soetro.
10 the year he moved back to Hawaii and began living with his grandparents.
22 the year he graduated from Columbia University with a degree in political science, and became a community organizer in Chicago.
30 the year he graduated from Harvard Law School.
31 the year he married Michelle Robinson, now Michelle Obama.
34 the year he became a state senator in Illinois.
Also 34 the year he published his memoir, Dreams From My Father.
37 the year his first daughter, Malia, was born.
39 the year the calendar flipped to 2000.
Also 39 the year he lost in his first run for the U.S. House of Representatives.
40 the year his second daughter, Sasha, was born.
43 the year he gave his famous keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention.
Also 43 the year he was elected to the U.S. Senate.
47 the year he was elected President of the United States.
That’s a fast ride.
For a taste of how he made it, watch the first three minutes of his keynote speech in 2004 (below). He really draws the threads together — you can see why he was an effective candidate.
(And after three years of birther baloney, it’s hard to remember that Obama’s family history was once presented as an inspirational American story, not a dire threat to the American Way.)
See our biography of Barack Obama »