Bill Clinton Biography

NAME: Bill Clinton

OCCUPATION: U.S. President, U.S. Governor

BIRTH DATE: August 19, 1946 (Age: 65)

EDUCATION: Georgetown University, University of Oxford, Yale University Law School

PLACE OF BIRTH: Hope, Arkansas

President of the United States of America. William Jefferson Clinton was born on August 19, 1946, in Hope, Arkansas, a small town with a population of about 8,000. His father, William Jefferson Blythe, died in a car crash several months before Clinton was born, leaving him in the care of his mother, Virginia Cassidy Blythe. In order to provide for her son, Virginia moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, to complete two years of nursing school, while Clinton stayed with his grandparents, Eldridge and Edith Cassidy. Clinton's grandparents were strict disciplinarians who instilled in him the importance of a good education. "My grandparents had a lot to do with my early commitment to learning," he later recalled. "They taught me to count and read. I was reading little books when I was three."

Clinton's mother returned to Arkansas with a degree in nursing in 1950, and later that year she married an automobile salesman named Roger Clinton. Two years later, the family moved from Hope to Hot Springs, Arkansas. Although neither his parents nor his grandparents were religious, Clinton became a devoted Baptist from a very young age. On Sunday mornings, he woke himself up, put on his best dress clothes and walked half a mile to Park Place Baptist Church to attend services alone. Clinton was especially drawn to the gospel music performed at his church. He began playing the jazz saxophone, and by the time he graduated from high school many considered him the best saxophonist in the city. Throughout his childhood, Clinton grew increasingly disturbed by his stepfather's drinking and abusive behavior toward his mother and younger half-brother. At the age of 14, already standing more than 6 feet tall, Clinton finally snapped. He told his stepfather, "If you want them, you'll have to go through me." The abuse stopped, but Roger Clinton's drinking did not, and Clinton's mother divorced him in 1962.

He graduated in 1968 and won a Rhodes Scholarship, which he used to study government at Oxford University. Clinton graduated from Yale Law School in 1973. He then taught law in Arkansas, and ran for political office. He was elected Arkansas Attorney General in 1976, then Governor in 1978. He won re-election in 1982, and served until he won the US Presidency in 1992, becoming the 42nd President of the United States, and winning re-election in 1996.

Underwent emergency quadruple heart bypass surgery in September 2004 after experiencing an episode of angina. The former President had not suffered a coronary infarction, but some of his arteries were more than 90% clogged up. He later underwent corrective surgery for a partially collapsed lung in March 2005. In 2006, he earned between $9-10 million on the lecture circuit. He gave 352 speeches, only 20% for personal income. His speaking fee, is approximately $150,000 per speech unless it is for one of the many Clinton causes or organizations, in which case he speaks for free.

Prior to the 2008 election, he is the youngest of the four living US presidents, born 44 days after current president George W. Bush. First president from the "Baby Boom" generation. Made the cover of Time magazine's double issue - The 100 Most Influential People in the World - alongside Lady Gaga and Didier Drogba. [May 10, 2010].