The story begins with an Irish Catholic family in northeastern Pennsylvania. Mr. Biden was born in 1942, the eldest son of Joseph Robinette Biden Sr. and Catherine Eugenia Finnegan Biden. He was also a son of Scranton, Pa., which would become central to his political identity. The Biden family moved to Delaware when he was 10 years old.
Joseph R. Biden Jr. at age 10Biden family
Mr. Biden, back right, with his younger siblings James and Valerie.Biden family
Mr. Biden attended Syracuse University College of Law.Biden campaign
After graduating from law school, Mr. Biden got his start in local politics in Delaware, winning election to the New Castle County Council in 1970. Two years later, at just 29 years old, he challenged a well-known Republican incumbent, Senator J. Caleb Boggs, a former Delaware governor. Mr. Biden won in a major upset.
1970: During the New Castle County Council campaign.Biden campaign
Nov. 1972: Celebrating his 30th birthday with his wife, Neilia, and their children.Bettman, via Getty Images
Jan. 1973: Mr. Biden’s son Beau in a hospital bed.Brian Horton/Associated Press
Weeks after Mr. Biden’s victory, his wife, Neilia, and their 13-month-old daughter, Naomi, were killed in a car accident. Mr. Biden considered giving up the Senate seat that he had just won but was persuaded to serve. He was sworn in at the hospital where his sons were treated for injuries from the crash.
Dec. 1973: At Union Station in Washington.Bettman, via Getty Images
As a senator, Mr. Biden commuted to Washington by train, a routine that allowed him to return home to his children each night. In the 1970s, he was a vocal opponent of busing, and decades later, he would come under fire after recalling working with segregationist senators during his early years in the Senate. As time went on, he gained clout in the chamber, becoming the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee and then the panel’s chairman.
Feb. 1978: With President Jimmy Carter at a fund-raiser.Associated Press
Feb. 1981: Serving on the Foreign Relations Committee.George Tames/The New York Times
In 1977, he married Jill Jacobs; they would later have a daughter, Ashley.
Jan. 1985: His second wife, Jill, left, and their children at a swearing-in ceremony.Lana Harris/Associated Press
Aug. 1986: On the Judiciary Committee with Senators Strom Thurmond, third from the left, and Edward M. Kennedy, center.Lana Harris/Associated Press
June 1987: A campaign kickoff rally in Wilmington, Del.Keith Meyers/The New York Times
In 1987, Mr. Biden began his first presidential campaign, aiming to win the Democratic nomination the following year. The 44-year-old candidate presented himself as representing a new generation and declared, “We must rekindle the fire of idealism in this country.” But his bid was derailed by a plagiarism scandal, and he dropped out of the race months before the first nominating contest.
June 1987: Trains became a part of Mr. Biden’s political identity.Keith Meyers/The New York Times
June 1987: The 1988 Democratic presidential candidates included Al Gore, third from right; the Rev. Jesse Jackson, third from left; and Michael S. Dukakis, second from left, the eventual nominee.Charles Tasnadi/Associated Press
Sept. 1987: Announcing the end of his campaign.Jose R. Lopez/The New York Times
His presidential hopes dashed, Mr. Biden faced a far graver kind of peril in early 1988: a life-threatening brain aneurysm that required emergency surgery. Not long after that, he had another operation for a second brain aneurysm. Later that year, he returned to the Senate after a seven-month absence.
Sept. 1988: Returning to the Senate after recovering from brain surgery.Ron Edmonds/Associated Press
As the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Mr. Biden presided over confirmation hearings for six Supreme Court nominees, including Robert H. Bork, whose nomination Mr. Biden succeeded in defeating, and Clarence Thomas. The memory of the Thomas hearings would linger for decades as Mr. Biden faced criticism for his handling of Anita Hill’s testimony before his committee.
Oct. 1991: Mr. Biden, left, swearing in Anita Hill.Shutterstock
Mr. Biden also left his mark on consequential legislation, playing a leading role in passing the 1994 crime bill, which would become associated with mass incarceration. The Violence Against Women Act, one of Mr. Biden’s top legislative achievements, became law as part of the crime bill.
July 1994: A news conference on the Violence Against Women Act.John Duricka/Associated Press
Jan. 1999: With Attorney General Janet Reno, left, and President Bill Clinton at a community policing event.Paul Hosefros/The New York Times
Oct. 2002: President George W. Bush signed the authorization of force against Iraq.Mark Wilson/Getty Images
Mr. Biden immersed himself in foreign policy during his decades as a senator, rising to serve as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. In 2002, he voted to authorize the war in Iraq, a vote that he later called a mistake.
Aug. 2005: A Foreign Relations Committee hearing with Senator Barack Obama.Brendan Smialowski/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Two decades after his first presidential bid imploded, Mr. Biden decided to try again in the 2008 election. Now in his 60s, he ran as a leader steeped in foreign policy, but he stumbled immediately when he described Mr. Obama, then a fellow senator and presidential candidate, as “the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy.” Mr. Biden’s campaign never caught on with voters, and he dropped out after finishing in a distant fifth place in the Iowa caucuses.
Aug. 2007: The Democratic field included Mr. Obama and Hillary Clinton, the former first lady who was then a senator from New York, right.Keith Bedford for The New York Times
Oct. 2007: Meeting with voters in Iowa.Doug Mills/The New York Times
Jan. 2008: Signing a campaign button in Iowa.Joshua Lott for The New York Times
Jan. 2008: Leaving a caucus site in Des Moines.David Lienemann/Associated Press
After Mr. Obama won the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008, he selected Mr. Biden to be his running mate. The choice added a dose of foreign policy experience to the ticket and began a close political partnership between the two men. As vice president, Mr. Biden oversaw the implementation of the 2009 stimulus bill and later headed the administration’s cancer moonshot program.
Oct. 2008: Campaigning as Mr. Obama’s running mate.Doug Mills/The New York Times
Jan. 2009: Marching in the inaugural parade with his wife, Jill, and their children Hunter, Ashley and Beau.Doug Mills/The New York Times
June 2009: During a meeting on economic legislation at the White House.Doug Mills/The New York Times
A skilled retail politician, Mr. Biden is known for his tactile, backslapping style, embracing one-on-one interactions on the campaign trail and elsewhere. His touchy-feely nature came under scrutiny in the #MeToo era, with a number of women saying he had touched them in ways that made them feel uncomfortable.
Sept. 2012: Campaigning for re-election in Ohio.Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press
Jan. 2013: Beau Biden at the inaugural ceremony.Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Associated Press
Decades after losing his first wife and daughter, Mr. Biden faced another family tragedy in 2015: His son Beau, who followed him into politics and served two terms as Delaware’s attorney general, died of brain cancer at 46. Mr. Biden cited his son’s death, and the grieving that followed, when he announced he would not run for president in 2016.
June 2015: At Beau Biden’s funeral.Doug Mills/The New York Times
Sept. 2015: Announcing he would not run for president in 2016.Carlos Barria/Reuters
After leaving office as vice president, he published a memoir and gave paid speeches, earning millions of dollars. He campaigned for Democratic candidates ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.
Dec. 2018: At a book event in Vermont.Hilary Swift for The New York Times
In the first months of 2019, the Democratic presidential field grew larger and larger, and Mr. Biden showed no urgency to declare his candidacy. He finally jumped into the race in late April, denouncing President Trump as a threat to the nation’s character.
May 2019: A campaign kickoff event in Philadelphia.Erin Schaff/The New York Times
June 2019: With a portion of the Democratic candidates at the first debate.Doug Mills/The New York Times
Despite his stature as a former vice president, Mr. Biden struggled to attract some primary voters who were turned off by his moderate brand of politics and his septuagenarian status — a far cry from his days as the 29-year-old Senate candidate. Mr. Biden fell flat in the first nominating contests, finishing in fourth place in Iowa and fifth place in New Hampshire.
Despite his early difficulties in two overwhelmingly white states, Mr. Biden counted on receiving strong support from Black voters in later contests. A big win in South Carolina turned his campaign around, and after picking up a series of key endorsements from former primary opponents, he defeated a more progressive rival, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, to win the Democratic nomination.
Feb. 2020: Connecting with voters in Iowa.Jordan Gale for The New York Times
March 2020: At a campaign event with two former presidential candidates, Senators Kamala Harris, center, and Cory Booker.Chang W. Lee/The New York Times
June 2020: A socially distant meeting with community leaders in Wilmington, Del.Erin Schaff/The New York Times
The coronavirus pandemic upended the presidential race, and Mr. Biden limited himself to campaigning virtually for much of the spring as the outbreak raged. He eventually began making occasional in-person appearances, and in August, he chose Senator Kamala Harris of California as his running mate.
Aug. 2020: Ms. Harris was announced as Mr. Biden’s running mate.Erin Schaff/The New York Times
Mr. Biden confronted an extraordinary general election that played out as the pandemic continued to disrupt American life. He repeatedly condemned Mr. Trump’s handling of the crisis, while the president and his allies tried to portray Mr. Biden as a tool of the far left.
The first general election debate quickly devolved into a headache-inducing brawl, as Mr. Trump repeatedly interrupted his opponent. Just days after sharing the stage with Mr. Biden, the president announced that he had tested positive for the coronavirus.
Sept. 2020: The first debate with President Trump.Doug Mills/The New York Times
In his visits to battleground states, Mr. Biden held carefully arranged events with mask wearing and social distancing. Eschewing the packed events with big crowds that are a staple of presidential campaigns, he held a string of drive-in car rallies where voters beeped their horns to cheer him on.
Oct. 2020: Supporters at a drive-in rally in Des Moines.Erin Schaff/The New York Times
Oct. 2020: Mr. Obama joined Mr. Biden at a campaign rally in Flint, Mich.Erin Schaff/The New York Times
Nov. 2020: Celebrating the win with Ms. Harris four days after the election.Erin Schaff/The New York Times
Nov. 2020: After twice falling short, Mr. Biden succeeded in his third presidential campaign.Erin Schaff/The New York Times
Election night stretched deep into the week as ballots were counted in key states. Four days after polls closed, Mr. Biden was declared the winner. In the weeks that followed, he rolled out a diverse slate of cabinet picks and prepared to take office.
Nov. 2020: Introducing members of his national security team.Anna Moneymaker for The New York Times
Dec. 2020: Receiving the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine.Amr Alfiky/The New York Times
Mr. Biden received the Covid-19 vaccine and promised to step up vaccinations across the country, setting a goal of getting 100 million shots into the arms of Americans in his first 100 days in office.
Jan. 2021: Campaigning with Jon Ossoff and the Rev. Raphael Warnock in the Georgia Senate runoffs.Doug Mills/The New York Times
Early January brought a major boost to his hopes of passing his legislative agenda. Democrats won both runoff elections for Georgia’s Senate seats, putting their party in control of the chamber.
Mr. Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday is taking place 48 years after he first arrived in Washington as one of the youngest people to be elected senator. With his swearing-in, he will become the oldest president in American history.
Jan. 2021: Arriving at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.Doug Mills/The New York Times
Jan. 2021: Attending a memorial for victims of the coronavirus at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.Doug Mills/The New York Times More
