Hillary Clinton Birthday
Is there anything Hillary Clinton can’t do? Here's everything we know about one of the most influential women of the 21st century.
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National Today
Background

Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, on October 26, 1947, Hillary Clinton received departmental honors in political science from Wellesley College in 1969 and a Juris Doctor degree from Yale Law School in 1973. After a stint as a legal counsel in Congress, she moved to Arkansas and married Bill Clinton in 1975, a Southern politician who would become president in 1993. In 1977, she co-founded the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, became the first female president of the Legal Services Corporation in 1978, and the first female partner of the Rose Law Firm in 1979.

As First Lady of the U.S., she fought for gender equality and health care reform. In 2000, she was elected the first female Senator of New York. In 2006, she got re-elected with 67% of the votes. Not long after, she ran for the 2008 Democratic primaries but was ultimately defeated by eventual winner Senator Barack Obama.

As Secretary of State, she was at the forefront of the country’s response to the Arab Spring, supported military intervention in Libya, dealt with the aftermath of the 2012 Benghazi embassy attack, and organized diplomatic isolation against Iran, to minimize its nuclear program. After leaving office in 2013, she published her fifth book and gave several speeches before announcing her second presidential bid in the 2016 election. Hillary garnered more votes and delegates in the Democratic primaries and received the party’s nomination, becoming the first woman nominated as a presidential candidate by a major U.S. political party. Despite winning more popular votes, she was eventually defeated by Republican Donald Trump in the Electoral College. In the following years, she published her third memoir, founded a political action organization, and became the first female Chancellor of Queen’s University Belfast.