Editing Joe Biden (section)

== Marriages, law school, and early career (1966–1973) ==
{{Main|Early life and career of Joe Biden|l1 = Early career of Joe Biden}}
{{See also|Family of Joe Biden}}

Biden married [[Neilia Hunter Biden|Neilia Hunter]], a student at [[Syracuse University]], on August 27, 1966,<ref name="ap-timeline">{{Cite news |date=August 23, 2008 |title=A timeline of U.S. Sen. Joe Biden's life and career |work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |url=https://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/08/22/politics/p222636D16.DTL |url-status=dead |access-date=September 6, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080925021142/https://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fn%2Fa%2F2008%2F08%2F22%2Fpolitics%2Fp222636D16.DTL |archive-date=September 25, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Weiss |first1=Abby |title=The One: Joe Biden's 1st wife Neilia Biden shaped his life, career while at Syracuse |url=https://dailyorange.com/2022/02/joe-bidens-1st-wife-neilia-biden-shaped-life-career-syracuse/ |access-date=June 13, 2023 |work=[[The Daily Orange]] |date=February 24, 2022 |archive-date=June 22, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230622163633/https://dailyorange.com/2022/02/joe-bidens-1st-wife-neilia-biden-shaped-life-career-syracuse/ |url-status=live}}</ref> after overcoming her parents' disinclination for her to wed a Catholic. Their wedding was held in a Catholic church in [[Skaneateles, New York (village)|Skaneateles, New York]].<ref>Biden, ''Promises to Keep'', pp. 32, 36–37.</ref> They had three children: [[Beau Biden|Joseph R. "Beau" Biden III]], [[Hunter Biden|Robert Hunter Biden]], and Naomi Christina "Amy" Biden.<ref name="ap-timeline" />

Biden earned a [[Juris Doctor]] from [[Syracuse University College of Law]] in 1968. In his first year of law school, he failed a course because he [[Plagiarism|plagiarized]] a law review article, but the failing grade was later stricken. His grades were relatively poor, and he graduated 76th in a class of 85.<ref name="nyt091887" /> He was [[Admission to the bar in the United States|admitted]] to the [[Delaware bar]] in 1969.<ref name="cong-bio" />

Biden clerked at a [[Wilmington, Delaware|Wilmington]] law firm headed by prominent local [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] William Prickett in 1968 and self-identified as a Republican.<ref name="dmn-87">{{Cite news |last=Leubsdorf |first=Carl P. |date=September 6, 1987 |title=Biden Keeps Sights Set On White House |work=[[The Dallas Morning News]] |url=https://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_text_direct-0=0ED3CF5858543A33&p_field_direct-0=document_id |access-date=January 24, 2021 |archive-date=January 3, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210103080715/https://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_text_direct-0=0ED3CF5858543A33&p_field_direct-0=document_id |url-status=live}} Reprinted in {{cite news |url=https://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/washington/cleubsdorf/stories/082308dnpolbiden87profile.4d6e19b.html |title=Lifelong ambition led Joe Biden to Senate, White House aspirations |date=August 23, 2008 |newspaper=[[The Dallas Morning News]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080919060037/https://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/washington/cleubsdorf/stories/082308dnpolbiden87profile.4d6e19b.html |archive-date=September 19, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Barrett |first=Laurence I. |date=June 22, 1987 |title=Campaign Portrait, Joe Biden: Orator for the Next Generation |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |url=https://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,964716,00.html |access-date=January 24, 2021 |archive-date=November 13, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201113235512/https://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,964716,00.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> He disliked incumbent Democratic Delaware governor [[Charles L. Terry]]'s conservative racial politics and supported a more liberal Republican, [[Russell W. Peterson]], who defeated Terry in 1968.<ref name="dmn-87" /> Local Republicans attempted to recruit Biden, but he registered as an [[Independent politician|independent]] because of his distaste for Republican presidential candidate [[Richard Nixon]].<ref name="dmn-87" />

=== Law practices ===
[[File:Joe Biden in 1968 Edition of Onondagan Yearbook.jpg|thumb|upright|Biden in the Syracuse 1968 yearbook|left]]

In 1969, Biden practiced law, first as a [[public defender]] and then at a law firm headed by a locally active Democrat,<ref name="cby-43">''Current Biography Yearbook 1987'', p. 43.</ref><ref name="dmn-87" /> who named him to the Democratic Forum, a group trying to reform and revitalize the state party;{{sfn|Witcover|2010|p=86}} Biden subsequently reregistered as a Democrat.<ref name="dmn-87" /> He and another attorney also formed a law firm.<ref name="cby-43" /> [[Corporate law]] did not appeal to him, and [[criminal law]] did not pay well.<ref name="nyt-father" /> He supplemented his income by managing properties.<ref name="watn020109">{{Cite magazine |last=Palmer |first=Nancy Doyle |date=February 1, 2009 |title=Joe Biden: 'Everyone Calls Me Joe' |magazine=[[Washingtonian (magazine)|Washingtonian]] |url=https://www.washingtonian.com/2009/02/01/joe-biden-everyone-calls-me-joe/ |access-date=February 4, 2009 |archive-date=July 31, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160731071850/https://www.washingtonian.com/2009/02/01/joe-biden-everyone-calls-me-joe/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

Biden ran for the fourth district seat on the [[New Castle County Council]] in 1970 on a liberal platform that included support for public housing in the suburbs.{{sfn|Witcover|2010|p=59}}<ref>{{Cite news |last=Harriman |first=Jane |date=December 31, 1969 |title=Joe Biden: Hope for Democratic Party in '72? |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-news-journal/8326887/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241009054235/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-news-journal/8326887/ |archive-date=October 9, 2024 |access-date=October 9, 2024 |newspaper=The News Journal |page=3 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> Biden won the general election, defeating Republican Lawrence T. Messick, and took office on January 5, 1971.<ref>{{cite news |date=January 2, 1971 |title=County Council to Take Oath |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67554678/council-oath/ |newspaper=[[The News Journal]] |page=4 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=January 24, 2021 |archive-date=January 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115185436/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67554678/council-oath/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=January 6, 1971 |title=Conner Calls Shake of 7 Lucky Omen for Council |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67567899/lucky-omen/ |work=[[The News Journal]] |location=Wilmington, DE |page=3 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=January 24, 2021 |archive-date=January 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115185426/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67567899/lucky-omen/ |url-status=live}}</ref> He served until January 1, 1973.<ref>{{cite news |last=Frump |first=Bob |date=November 8, 1972 |title=GOP Decade Ends with Slawik Win |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67555456/gop-decade/ |work=[[The News Journal]] |location=Wilmington, DE |page=3 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |access-date=January 24, 2021 |archive-date=January 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115185431/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67555456/gop-decade/ |url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Witcover|2010|pp=52–64}} During his time on the county council, Biden opposed large highway projects, which he argued might disrupt Wilmington neighborhoods.{{sfn|Witcover|2010|pp=52–64}}

Biden had not openly supported or opposed the [[Vietnam War]] until he ran for Senate and opposed Richard Nixon's conduct of the war.{{sfn|Witcover|2010|pp=50, 75}} While studying at the University of Delaware and Syracuse University, Biden obtained five student [[conscription|draft]] deferments. Based on a physical examination, he was given a conditional medical deferment in 1968; in 2008, a spokesperson for Biden said his having had "[[asthma]] as a teenager" was the reason.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Caldera |first1=Camille |title=Fact check: Biden, like Trump, received multiple draft deferments from Vietnam |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/09/16/fact-check-biden-received-multiple-draft-deferments-vietnam/5809482002/ |access-date=April 3, 2021 |newspaper=[[USA Today]] |date=September 16, 2020 |archive-date=June 30, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210630191208/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/09/16/fact-check-biden-received-multiple-draft-deferments-vietnam/5809482002/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== 1972 U.S. Senate campaign in Delaware ===
{{Main|1972 United States Senate election in Delaware}}
[[File:Neilia Hunter, Joe, Hunter, Naomi Christina, and Beau Biden, c. 1972 (removed text).jpg|thumb|upright|left|Neilia Hunter, Joe, Hunter, Naomi Christina and Beau Biden, {{circa|1972}}]]

Biden defeated Republican incumbent [[J. Caleb Boggs]] to become the junior U.S. senator from Delaware in 1972. He was the only Democrat willing to challenge Boggs and, with minimal campaign funds, was thought to have no chance of winning.<ref name="cby-43" /><ref name="nyt-father" /> Family members managed and staffed the campaign, which relied on meeting voters face-to-face and hand-distributing position papers,<ref name="npr-72">{{Cite news |last=Naylor |first=Brian |date=October 8, 2007 |title=Biden's Road to Senate Took Tragic Turn |publisher=[[NPR]] |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14999603 |access-date=September 12, 2008 |archive-date=September 11, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080911183158/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14999603 |url-status=live}}</ref> an approach made feasible by Delaware's small size.<ref name="watn020109" /> He received help from the [[AFL-CIO]] and Democratic pollster [[Patrick Caddell]].<ref name="cby-43" /> His platform focused on the environment, withdrawal from Vietnam, civil rights, mass transit, equitable taxation, health care and public dissatisfaction with "politics as usual".<ref name="cby-43" /><ref name="npr-72" /> A few months before the election, Biden trailed Boggs by almost thirty percentage points,<ref name="cby-43" /> but his energy, attractive young family, and ability to connect with voters' emotions worked to his advantage,<ref name="aap08-bio" /> and he won with 50.5% of the vote.<ref name="npr-72" />

=== Death of wife and daughter ===
A few weeks after Biden was elected senator, his wife Neilia and one-year-old daughter Naomi were killed in an automobile accident in [[Hockessin, Delaware]], on December 18, 1972.<ref name="ap-timeline" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=December 19, 1972 |title=Biden's Wife, Child Killed in Car Crash |work=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/12/19/archives/bidens-wife-child-killed-in-car-crash.html |page=9 |access-date=January 8, 2021 |agency=United Press International |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=December 2, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202063824/https://www.nytimes.com/1972/12/19/archives/bidens-wife-child-killed-in-car-crash.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Their sons Beau (aged 3) and Hunter (aged 2) were in the car and were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.{{sfn|Witcover|2010|pp=93, 98}} Biden considered resigning to care for them,<ref name="aap08-bio" /> but [[Senate Majority Leader]] [[Mike Mansfield]] persuaded him not to.<ref>{{cite news|last=Levey |first=Noam M. |date=August 24, 2008 |title=In his home state, Biden is a regular Joe |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-aug-24-na-biden24-story.html |access-date=September 7, 2008 |archive-date=December 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191230125100/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-aug-24-na-biden24-story.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Biden contemplated suicide and was filled with anger and religious doubt.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cohen |first=Max |date=August 17, 2020 |title=Biden says he thought about suicide after 1972 death of his wife and daughter |work=[[Politico]] |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/17/biden-contemplated-suicide-after-1972-deaths-wife-daughter-397487 |access-date=April 30, 2024 |archive-date=July 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240721183748/https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/17/biden-contemplated-suicide-after-1972-deaths-wife-daughter-397487 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Bedigan |first=Mike |date=April 26, 2024 |title=Biden opens up about contemplating suicide after tragic deaths of first wife and daughter |work=[[The Independent]] |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/joe-biden-suicide-howard-stern-b2535629.html |access-date=April 30, 2024 |archive-date=April 30, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240430031830/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/joe-biden-suicide-howard-stern-b2535629.html |url-status=live }}</ref> He wrote that he "felt God had played a horrible trick" on him<ref>Biden, ''Promises to Keep'', p. 81</ref> and had trouble focusing on work.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bumiller |first=Elisabeth |author-link=Elisabeth Bumiller |date=December 14, 2007 |title=Biden Campaigning With Ease After Hardships |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/14/us/politics/14biden.html |access-date=September 13, 2008 |archive-date=December 10, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210154755/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/14/us/politics/14biden.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=August 1, 2007 |title=On Becoming Joe Biden |publisher=[[NPR]] |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12389154 |access-date=September 12, 2008 |archive-date=September 9, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080909093445/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12389154 |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Second marriage ===
[[File:Joe and Jilly Biden early photo.jpg|thumb|Biden and his second wife, [[Jill Biden|Jill]], met in 1975 and married in 1977|alt=Photo of Biden and his wife smiling, dressed casually]]
Biden met teacher [[Jill Tracy Jacobs]] in 1975 on a [[blind date]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Seelye |first=Katharine Q. |date=August 24, 2008 |title=Jill Biden Heads Toward Life in the Spotlight |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/25/us/politics/25wife.html |url-status=live |access-date=August 25, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081210193454/https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/25/us/politics/25wife.html |archive-date=December 10, 2008}}</ref> They married at the [[Church Center for the United Nations|United Nations chapel]] in New York on June 17, 1977,<ref>{{cite news |last=Dart |first=Bob |date=October 24, 2008 |title=Bidens met, forged life together after tragedy |newspaper=[[Orlando Sentinel]] |agency=[[Cox News Service]] |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-2008-10-24-a3bidenwife24-story.html |url-status=live |access-date=January 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020153208/https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-2008-10-24-a3bidenwife24-story.html |archive-date=October 20, 2020}}</ref><ref>Biden, ''Promises to Keep'', p. 117.</ref> and spent their honeymoon at [[Lake Balaton]] in the [[Hungarian People's Republic]].<ref>{{cite news | url=https://444.hu/2020/11/08/biden-es-felesege-1977-ben-a-balatonnal-voltak-naszuton | title=Biden és felesége 1977-ben a Balatonnál voltak nászúton |last=Sarkadi |first= Zsolt | work=444.hu | date=November 8, 2020 | access-date=November 8, 2020 | language=hu | archive-date=November 8, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108225640/https://444.hu/2020/11/08/biden-es-felesege-1977-ben-a-balatonnal-voltak-naszuton | url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54868002 | title=US election: What does Joe Biden's win mean for Brexit Britain and Europe? | author-first=Katya | author-last=Adler | agency=BBC News | date=November 8, 2020 | access-date=November 9, 2020 | archive-date=November 10, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201110014205/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54868002 | url-status=live}}</ref> Biden credits her with the renewal of his interest in politics and life.<ref>Biden, ''Promises to Keep'', p. 113.</ref>

In 1981, the couple had a daughter, [[Ashley Biden]],<ref name="ap-timeline" /> who is a social worker, activist, and fashion designer.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/03/fashion/weddings/ashley-biden-howard-krein-wedding.html |title=Ashley Biden and Howard Krein |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=June 3, 2012 |page=ST15 |access-date=January 24, 2021 |archive-date=November 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101001405/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/03/fashion/weddings/ashley-biden-howard-krein-wedding.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Jill helped raise her stepsons, Hunter and Beau, who were seven and eight respectively at the time of her marriage. Hunter has worked as a Washington lobbyist and investment adviser; his business dealings, [[Hunter Biden laptop controversy|personal life]], and [[Weiss special counsel investigation|legal troubles]] have come under [[United States House Oversight Committee investigation into the Biden family|significant scrutiny]] during his father's presidency. In December 2024, Biden pardoned Hunter following his [[Weiss special counsel investigation|conviction]] on gun and tax charges despite repeated promises that he would not do so.<ref name = "NBCpardon">{{cite news |first1=Carol E. |last1=Lee |first2=Sarah |last2=Fitzpatrick |title=President Biden pardons his son Hunter Biden |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/joe-biden/joe-biden-issue-pardon-son-hunter-biden-rcna182369 |publisher=NBC News |date=December 1, 2024 |access-date=December 2, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Schwartz |first=Emma |date=August 24, 2008 |title=My Son, The Lobbyist: Biden's Son a Well-Paid DC Insider |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=5640118&page=1 |access-date=January 4, 2023 |agency=ABC News |archive-date=January 4, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230104005221/https://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=5640118&page=1 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Levenson |first=Michael |date=August 11, 2023 |title=A Timeline of Hunter Biden's Life and Legal Troubles |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/11/us/politics/hunter-biden-legal-troubles-timeline.html |access-date=September 28, 2023 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=September 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928092007/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/11/us/politics/hunter-biden-legal-troubles-timeline.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="White House 2024">{{Cite web |date=December 2, 2024 |title=Statement from President Joe Biden |url=https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/12/01/statement-from-president-joe-biden-11/ |access-date=December 2, 2024 |publisher=The White House}}</ref> Beau became an Army [[judge-advocate]] in Iraq and later [[Delaware attorney general]]<ref>{{cite news|access-date=August 23, 2008 |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB121919956426355701|title=Biden's Foreign Policy Background Carries Growing Cachet |last=Cooper |first=Christopher |newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=August 20, 2008 |page=A4 |archive-date=June 1, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130601130450/https://online.wsj.com/article/SB121919956426355701.html |url-status=live}}</ref> before dying of brain cancer in 2015.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/vice-president-joe-bidens-son-beau-dies-n367171 |first=Phil |last=Helsel |title=Beau Biden, Son of Vice President Joe Biden, Dies After Battle With Brain Cancer |publisher=[[NBC News]] |date=May 31, 2015 |access-date=December 30, 2019 |archive-date=January 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200122170447/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/vice-president-joe-bidens-son-beau-dies-n367171 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Paul |last=Kane |date=May 31, 2015 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |title=Family losses frame Vice President Biden's career |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/beau-biden-vice-presidents-son-dies-of-brain-cancer-at-46/2015/05/31/4198da78-07c6-11e5-9e39-0db921c47b93_story.html |access-date=December 30, 2019 |archive-date=December 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191230125058/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/beau-biden-vice-presidents-son-dies-of-brain-cancer-at-46/2015/05/31/4198da78-07c6-11e5-9e39-0db921c47b93_story.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Teaching ===
From 1991 to 2008, as an [[adjunct professor]], Biden co-taught a [[seminar]] on [[constitutional law]] at [[Widener University School of Law]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Evon |first1=Dan |title=Did Biden Teach Constitutional Law for 21 Years? |url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/biden-constitutional-law-teach/ |access-date=July 8, 2021 |work=[[Snopes]] |date=October 16, 2020 |archive-date=November 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110005703/https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/biden-constitutional-law-teach/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Miriam|last=Fauzia|title=Fact check: If he loses election, Biden said he wants to teach, but where is uncertain|url=https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/10/28/fact-check-joe-biden-wants-return-teaching-if-he-loses-election/6037909002/|date=October 28, 2020|access-date=August 29, 2021|newspaper=[[USA Today]]|archive-date=November 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101033652/https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/10/28/fact-check-joe-biden-wants-return-teaching-if-he-loses-election/6037909002/|url-status=live}}</ref>