he was born on as William Jefferson Blythe IV, in Hope, Arkansas.
He never knew his father who died several months before he was born.
After he became president, he found out that his father was married at least three other times and he had a half brother and sister he never met.
He took the name William Jefferson Clinton after his mother remarried.
When he was a year old, his mother went to New Orleans, Louisiana, to study to become a nurse. For the next two years, he was reared by his maternal grandparents.
When he was 4 years old, his mother married Roger Clinton. Roger was an alchoholic, a gambler, and very abusive.
He attended a Roman Catholic school for two years before attending a public school.
He played the tenor saxophone and was a member of the all-state band.
When he was 17, he met President John F. Kennedy at a government study program for young people in Washington, D.C.
In 1964, he graduated from high school and enrolled at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where he majored in international affairs.
He went to Oxford University in England on a Rhodes scholarship, where he spent two years in graduate school.
In 1970, he enrolled at Yale University Law school, where he studied for a law degree. he paid his way through school by working two or three jobs at a time.
On October 11, 1975, he married Hilary Diane Rodham, his fellow law school student at Yale. Their daughter, Chelsea Victoria Clinton, was born on February 27, 1980.
In 1974, he lost in the race fro a seat in the US House of Representatives. The close race gave him statewide recognition that helped him in his campaign for attorney general in 1976. He won the
primaries and there was no republican opponent.
In 1978, he ran for governor, and in 1979 at 32, he became the youngest governors in US history. He went on to serve five terms before running for president in 1992. He won the election.
Presidential Facts
He was the only president to play the saxophone.
He appointed more women to the cabinet than any other president.
Achieved ratification of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1993 between the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Signed the Brady Bill, imposing waiting periods and stiffer licensing fees for handgun purchases.
Hosted negotiations that led to the Dayton peace accord, an agreement to end war between factions in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Initiated sweeping welfare reform in 1996, including provisions that let states set their own welfare guidelines.
