MANNIE GARCIA/AFP/GETTY IMAGES Senator Joseph Biden

Senator Joseph Biden

On August 23, 2008, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama announced his choice of Senator Joseph Biden as his vice-presidential running mate. Biden was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on November 20, 1942. He graduated from the University of Delaware in 1965, and from the Syracuse University College of Law in 1968. He worked as a lawyer in Delaware for two years before turning his attention to politics.

At age 29, Biden became one of the youngest senators in U.S. history. He has served in the U.S. Senate since 1972. He is Delaware's longest-serving senator. As a Senator, Biden has fought for causes that are important to him, including providing health care to all children in Delaware and protecting women and children against violence. In addition to his duties in the Senate, Biden has also worked as a professor at the Widener University School of Law in Wilmington, Delaware, since 1991. He ran for President in 1988 and 2008, but dropped out of the race both times.

Biden has three grown children — Beau, Hunter and Ashley, and five grandchildren. He lives in Wilmington, Delaware, with his wife, Jill.