Obama was born on August 4, 1961, at the Kapiolani Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Barack Obama, Sr., a Black Kenyan of Nyang’oma Kogelo, Siaya District, Kenya, and Ann Dunham, a White American from Wichita, Kansas. His parents met while attending the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where his father was a foreign student They separated when he was two years old and later divorced. Obama's father returned to Kenya and saw him only once more before dying in an automobile accident in 1982. After her divorce, Dunham married Lolo Soetoro, and the family moved to Soetoro's home country of Indonesia in 1967, where Obama attended local schools in Jakarta until he was ten years old. He then returned to Honolulu to live with his maternal grandparents while attending Punahou School from the fifth grade in 1971 until his graduation from high school in 1979. Obama's mother returned to Hawaii in 1972 for several years and then back to Indonesia for her fieldwork. She died of ovarian cancer in 1995.
Following high school, Barack Obama moved to Los Angeles, where he studied at Occidental College for two years.[10] He then transferred to Columbia University in New York City, where he majored in political science with a specialization in international relations.[11] Obama graduated with a B.A. from Columbia in 1983, then worked for a year at the Business International Corporation and then at the New York Public Interest Research Group.
After four years in New York City, Obama moved to Chicago to work as a community organizer for three years from June 1985 to May 1988 as director of the Developing Communities Project (DCP), a church-based community organization originally comprising eight Catholic parishes in Greater Roseland (Roseland, West Pullman, and Riverdale) on Chicago's far South Side. During his three years as the DCP's director, its staff grew from 1 to 13 and its annual budget grew from $70,000 to $400,000, with accomplishments including helping set up a job training program, a college preparatory tutoring program, and a tenants' rights organization in Altgeld Gardens. Obama also worked as a consultant and instructor for the Gamaliel Foundation, a community organizing institute. In mid-1988, he traveled for the first time to Europe for three weeks then Kenya for five weeks where he met many of his Kenyan relatives for the first time.
Obama entered Harvard Law School in late 1988 and at the end of his first year was selected as an editor of the Harvard Law Review based on his grades and a writing competition. In his second year he was elected president of the Law Review, a full-time volunteer position functioning as editor-in-chief and supervising the law review's staff of 80 editors. Obama's election in February 1990 as the first black president of the Harvard Law Review was widely reported and followed by several long, detailed profiles. He graduated with a Juris Doctor (J.D.) magna cum laude from Harvard in 1991 and returned to Chicago where he had worked as a summer associate at the law firms of Sidley & Austin in 1989 and Hopkins & Sutter in 1990.
The publicity from his election as the first black president of the Harvard Law Review led to a contract and advance to write a book about race relations. In an effort to recruit him to their faculty, the University of Chicago Law School provided Obama with a fellowship and an office to work on his book. He originally planned to finish the book in one year, but it took much longer as the book evolved into a personal memoir. In order to work without interruptions, Obama and his wife, Michelle, traveled to Bali where he wrote for several months. The manuscript was finally published as Dreams from My Father in mid-1995.
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Strong Aftershocks Jolt Chile Inauguration - CBS News A series of strong aftershocks from last month's devastating quake rocked Chile on Thursday as a new president was sworn into office and immediately urged coastal residents to move to higher ground in case of a tsunami. The strongest aftershock, with ... Publ.Date : Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:55:00 GMT
Michelle Obama Inauguration Dress Smithsonian: First Lady, Jason Wu Hand It Over (PHOTOS) - Huffingtonpost.com Michelle Obama and designer Jason Wu attended a ceremony at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington on Tuesday, where they continued the long tradition of first ladies handing over their inaugural gowns. Sadly for her, happily for the world, Mrs. Obama parted with her uber Publ.Date : Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:36:00 GMT
Three severe aftershocks hit Chile on inauguration day ... - Digital Journal Santiago, Chile - After Sebastian Pinera is set to be sworn in on Thursday ... The nation’s navy issued a tsunami warning after the aftershocks hit the region, reports CBC News . The largest aftershock had a depth of 21.7 miles and was located 70 ... Publ.Date : Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:43:00 GMT
West Bend Mutual forms worker's comp division - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Called Argent, the new unit will provide businesses owners with services related to worker's compensation claims and costs, the insurer said. "Argent's focus will be on business owners who have a sincere desire to improve their worker's compensation ... Publ.Date : Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:48:00 GMT
Chile rocked by magnitude 7.2 earthquake - WCSH SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) -- Two strongly felt earthquakes have rocked central Chile as dignitaries arrive for the inauguration of President-elect Sebastian Pinera. The U.S. Geological Survey says the first quake had a preliminary magnitude of 5.1 and the ... Publ.Date : Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:55:00 GMT
Betty White Goes Live From New York on 'Saturday Night ... - WNYT The fans' request hasn't fallen to the wayside. Betty White will host "Saturday Night Live." "SNL" executive producer Lorne Michaels says he "always wanted" the 88-year-old actress to host the show and on May 8, she'll do just that. "Years ago, I ... Publ.Date : Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:33:00 GMT
Waukesha apartment project on hold - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel City Planner Michael Hoeft said Thursday the developer decided not to bring it before Wednesday's plan commission meeting as originally scheduled after staff raised questions about the 11-building layout and storm water management. Regulations for ... Publ.Date : Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:33:00 GMT
7.2 magnitude quake rocks Chile on inauguration day - YAHOO! VALPARAISO, Chile (AFP) – A powerful 7.2 magnitude aftershock and four smaller ones rocked central Chile Thursday, prompting a tsunami warning minutes before Sebastian Pinera was sworn in as the new president. Chile's national emergency office ... Publ.Date : Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:33:00 GMT
7.2 magnitude quake rocks Chile on inauguration day - YAHOO! VALPARAISO, Chile (AFP) – A powerful 7.2 magnitude aftershock and four smaller ones rocked central Chile Thursday, prompting a tsunami warning minutes before Sebastian Pinera was sworn in as the new president. Chile's national emergency office ... Publ.Date : Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:33:00 GMT
