Hillary Rodham was born 1947 in Chicago, Illinois. She was raised in a small suburb outside of Chicago called Park Ridge with her family of five. Her political life started early since as a young woman she was an active member in Republican Party politics and even campaigned for Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater in 1964. However, her political position soon changed and in 1968 she became a Democrat.
Before meeting her husband, former President Bill Clinton, she attended Wellesley College where she was strongly involved in student politics and during her last year at Wellesley, she was elected senior class president. After graduating from Wellesley in 1969, Clinton attended Yale Law School where she met Bill Clinton. During her time at Yale Law School, she continued to remain active in politics by working for Senator Walter Mondale’s sub-committee on migrant workers and even worked on the campaign for presidential nominee George McGovern. She graduated with honors in 1973 and went on to complete one post-graduate year of study.
In 1974, before marrying President Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton became a member of the presidential impeachment inquiry staff. One of her more notable roles during this time was her role in advising the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives during the Watergate Scandal. One year later, in 1975, she married Bill Clinton.
During her husband’s career as governor of Arkansas, Hillary accomplished many things. She joined the Rose Law Firm in Little Rock and was part-time chairman of the Legal Services Corporation by President Carter after working on Jimmy Carter’s successful campaign for president. Additionally, as first lady of the state of Arkansas for a dozen years, she advocated for children and families by co-founding the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, chairing the Arkansas Educational Standards Committee, and serving on the boards of the Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Arkansas Legal Services and the Children’s Defense Fund.
Bill Clinton was elected president in 1992. Hillary Clinton stood by his side as an honorable partner, even after the Monica Lewinsky sex scandal. In the public’s eye, she remained supportive of her husband and held her ground.
After Bill Clinton’s presidency, Hillary Clinton decided to pursue her own agenda in the White House starting with being elected US Senator for New York in 2001. She was re-elected after her first term and served as senator until 2009. During this time, Clinton announced her plans to become the first female president. However, she conceded the nomination in 2008 since Barack Obama held the majority of the delegate vote. Shortly after being elected, President Obama nominated Clinton to be US Secretary of State and she accepted in 2009.
During this time, Clinton made women’s and human rights a priority. However, her position as US Secretary of State was questioned after the attack on a US diplomatic post in Benghazi, Libya. Clinton took responsibility for the incident and officially stepped down as US Secretary of State in 2013. Despite her email scandal, Clinton announced she was running for president Spring 2015.
Source: Biography.com: Hillary Clinton
Life Timeline:
1947- “Hillary Diane Rodham is born at Edgewater Hospital in Chicago Illinois.”
1965- Attends Wellesley College, an all female college outside of Boston. She majors in political science and psychology. During her time there she served as the elected president of the campus Republican Club.
1969- Attends Yale Law School.
1974- Appointed to Staff of House Judiciary Committee during Watergate.
1991- Bill Clinton announces that he will run for president.
1992- During an interview defending her work while Bill campaigned for president, she says “I supposed I could have stayed home and baked cookies and had teas.”
1993- Jan. 20- Becomes First Lady.
1993- Jan 25- Named chair of healthcare task force.
2000- Elected to the U.S. Senate from New York.
2001-2009- As a senator representing New York she sponsored 363 bills between January 22, 2001 and January 14, 2009. 324 of those did not make it out of committee; 11 were enacted successfully. She also co-sponsored 1,530 other bills during this time period.
2006- Reelected to U.S. Senate from New York.
2007- Launches presidential campaign.
2008- Ends campaign for president as the nomination goes to Obama.
2009- Nominated by Barack Obama to be the 67th U.S. Secretary of State.
2013- Testified before the Senate regarding Benghazi.
2015- Announces presidential candidacy.
Source: Hillary Clinton Quarterly