Joe Biden, the 46th and current

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

, has family members who are prominent in law, education, activism and politics. Biden's immediate family became the first family of the United States on his inauguration on January 20, 2021. His immediate family circle was also the second family of the United States from 2009 to 2017, when Biden was vice president. The Biden family is of

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, and French descent. Of Joe Biden's sixteen great-great grandparents, ten were born in Ireland. He is descended from the Blewitts of

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...

and the Finnegans of

County Louth County Louth ( ; ga, An Lú) is a coastal county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of Meath to the south, Monaghan to the west, Armagh to the north and Down to the ...

. One of Biden's great-great-great grandfathers was born in Sussex, England, and emigrated to

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

in the United States in or before 1822.

Wives

Neilia Hunter Biden

Neilia Hunter Biden, the first wife of Joe Biden, was born on July 28, 1942. The couple married on August 27, 1966. After the wedding, the Bidens moved to

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

, where Biden was on the

New Castle County New Castle County is the northernmost of the three counties of the U.S. state of Delaware (New Castle, Kent, and Sussex). As of the 2020 census, the population was 570,719, making it the most populous county in Delaware, with nearly 60% of the ...

Council. The couple had three children: Joseph Robinette "Beau" III, Robert Hunter and Naomi Christina "Amy". Biden campaigned to unseat U.S. Senator from Delaware

J. Caleb Boggs James Caleb Boggs (May 15, 1909 – March 26, 1993) was an American lawyer and politician from Claymont in New Castle County, Delaware. A member of the Republican Party, he was commonly known by his middle name, Caleb, frequently shortened ...

and Neilia was described by ''The News Journal'' as the "brains" of his campaign. On December 18, 1972, shortly after her husband became U.S. senator-elect, Neilia was driving with Naomi, Beau, and Hunter to buy a

Christmas tree A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, or an artificial tree of similar appearance, associated with the celebration of Christmas. The custom was further developed in early modern ...

, when their car was hit by a

tractor-trailer A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semitruck, (or semi, eighteen-wheeler, big rig, tractor-trailer or, by synecdoche, a semitrailer) is the combination of a tractor unit and one or more semi-trailers to carry freight. A semi-trailer a ...

. Neilia and the children were taken to

Wilmington General Hospital ChristianaCare is a network of private, non-profit hospitals providing health care services to all of the U.S. state of Delaware and portions of seven counties bordering the state in Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey. The system includes two h ...

. Neilia and Naomi died upon arrival, but her two sons survived with serious injuries. Biden was sworn into the Senate on January 3, 1973, at the hospital where his sons were being treated.

Jill Biden

Jill Tracy Jacobs Biden (née Jacobs, formerly Stevenson), the second and current wife of Joe Biden, was born on June 3, 1951. She met Biden while on a

blind date A blind date is a social engagement between two people who have not met, usually arranged by a mutual acquaintance. Structure A blind date is arranged for by a mutual acquaintance of both participants. The two people who take part in the blind ...

in March 1975. Joe and Jilly Biden early photo

She and Joe Biden were married by a Catholic priest on June 17, 1977, at the Chapel at the United Nations in New York City. This was four and a half years after his first wife and infant daughter died; Joe had proposed several times before she accepted, as she was wary of entering the public spotlight, anxious to remain focused on her own career, and initially hesitant to take on the commitment of raising his two young sons who had survived the accident.

Children

Joe Biden fathered four children from two marriages. His firstborn daughter, Naomi Christina Biden, died in 1972, in the same car accident as her mother, and his firstborn son, Joseph "Beau" R. Biden III, died in 2015 after a fight with

brain cancer A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and secondar ...

. The Bidens' two surviving children include one son from his first marriage, Robert Hunter Biden, and one daughter from his second, Ashley Blazer Biden.

Beau Biden

Joseph "Beau" Robinette Biden III was born on February 3, 1969, in Wilmington, Delaware. Beau suffered multiple broken bones in the car crash that took the lives of his mother and sister, but he survived after spending several months in a hospital. Beau went on to graduate from

Archmere Academy Archmere Academy is a private Roman Catholic college preparatory school located in Claymont, Delaware, United States. 514 students were enrolled for the 202021 academic year. The academy is co-educational and is run independently within the Roman ...

, his father's high school alma mater, and the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

in 1991, where he was a member of the

Psi Upsilon Psi Upsilon (), commonly known as Psi U, is a North American fraternity,''Psi Upsilon Tablet'' founded at Union College on November 24, 1833. The fraternity reports 50 chapters at colleges and universities throughout North America, some of which ...

fraternity. He was also a graduate of

Syracuse University College of Law Syracuse University College of Law (SUCOL) is a Juris Doctor degree-granting law school of Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. It is one of only four law schools in upstate New York. Syracuse was accredited by the American Bar Association ...

, as was his father. After graduating from law school, he clerked for Judge

Steven McAuliffe Steven James McAuliffe (born March 3, 1948) is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire. He is the widower of Christa McAuliffe, one of the victims of the 1986 Space Shuttle ''C ...

of the United States District Court of New Hampshire. From 1995 to 2004, he worked at the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

in Philadelphia, first as Counsel to the Office of Policy Development and later as a federal prosecutor in the

U.S. Attorney's Office United States attorneys are officials of the United States Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 United States federal judicial district, U.S. federal judici ...

. He married Hallie Olivere in 2002. In his first bid at political office, Biden ran for

Attorney General of Delaware The attorney general of Delaware is a constitutional officer of the U.S. state of Delaware, and is the chief law officer and the head of the State Department of Justice. On January 1, 2019, Kathy Jennings was sworn in as the 46th attorney general o ...

in 2006. Biden's opponent was a veteran state prosecutor and Assistant U.S. Attorney, Ferris Wharton. Major issues in the campaign included the candidates' experience and proposed efforts to address sex offenders, Internet predators, senior abuse and domestic abuse. Biden won the election by approximately five percentage points. Beau played an active role in his father's 2008 vice presidential campaign, speaking at the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

after Joe Biden was nominated for Vice President of the United States. He recounted the auto accident that killed his mother and sister and the subsequent parenting commitment his father made to his sons, a speech at which many delegates wept. On November 2, 2010, he was easily re-elected to a second term as Delaware Attorney General, beating

Independent Party of Delaware The Independent Party of Delaware (IPoD) is a political party in the State of Delaware, United States. As of March 2021, it is the third largest political party in Delaware with 9,443 registered voters. The preamble outlines the party's goals: "T ...

candidate Doug Campbell by a large margin. For the final few years of his life, Biden suffered from a brain tumor. In May 2010, he was admitted to

Christiana Hospital Christiana Hospital is a 906-bed nationally ranked, non-profit, tertiary, research and academic medical center located in Stanton, Newark, Delaware, servicing the entire Delaware area and parts of southern New Jersey. Christiana Hospital is the ...

Newark, Delaware Newark ( )Not as in Newark, New Jersey. is a small city in New Castle County, Delaware, New Castle County, Delaware, United States. It is located west-southwest of Wilmington, Delaware, Wilmington. According to the 2010 United States Census, ...

, after complaining of a headache, numbness, and paralysis. Officials said he had suffered a "mild stroke". Later that month, Biden was transferred to

Thomas Jefferson University Hospital Thomas Jefferson University Hospital is the flagship hospital of Jefferson Health, a multi-state non-profit health system based in Philadelphia. The hospital serves as the teaching hospital for Thomas Jefferson University. History Originally form ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

and kept for observation for several days. In August 2013, Biden was admitted to the

University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (colloquially MD Anderson Cancer Center) is a comprehensive cancer center in Houston, Texas. It is the largest cancer center in the U.S. and one of the original three comprehensive cancer centers ...

in Houston and diagnosed with brain cancer, after experiencing what

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

officials called "an episode of disorientation and weakness". A lesion was removed at that time. Biden had radiation and chemotherapy treatments and the cancer remained stable. On May 20, 2015, he was admitted to

Walter Reed National Military Medical Center The Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC), formerly known as the National Naval Medical Center and colloquially referred to as the Bethesda Naval Hospital, Walter Reed, or Navy Med, is a United States' tri-service military medi ...

in Bethesda, Maryland, because of a recurrence of brain cancer. He died there ten days later, on May 30, 2015, at the age of 46. His funeral was held at St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church in

, on June 6, 2015. He was buried at St. Joseph's on the Brandywine in

Greenville, Delaware Greenville is a bedroom community in New Castle County, Delaware, United States, and a suburb of Wilmington. The population was 2,326 at the 2010 census. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Greenville as a census ...

Hunter Biden

Robert Hunter Biden was born on February 4, 1970, in Wilmington, Delaware. Along with his mother and siblings, he was in the 1972 crash, sustaining injuries to his skull. Along with his older brother, he survived after receiving months of medical treatment. Like his father and brother, Hunter attended Archmere Academy in

Claymont, Delaware Claymont is a census-designated place (CDP) in New Castle County, Delaware. The estimated 2017 population of the 19703 ZIP code, which Claymont encompasses, was 15,292. History The community now known as Claymont started on the banks of Naamans C ...

. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

in 1992. During the year after he graduated from college, he served as a

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

volunteer at a church in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, and met

Kathleen Buhle Kathleen Buhle, formerly known as Kathleen Biden, is an American non-profit executive and writer. Buhle is the former wife of Hunter Biden, a son of U.S. President Joe Biden. She is the author of the 2022 memoir ''If We Break: A Memoir of Marria ...

, whom he married in 1993. After attending

Georgetown University Law Center The Georgetown University Law Center (Georgetown Law) is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment and ...

for one year, he transferred to

Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by ''U ...

and graduated in 1996. He and Kathleen divorced in 2017 and, in 2019, he married Melissa Cohen. After law school, Hunter accepted a position at

bank holding A bank holding company is a Holding company, company that controls one or more banks, but does not necessarily engage in banking itself. The Compound (linguistics), compound bancorp (''banc''/''bank'' + ''corporation, corp

ration Rationing is the controlled distribution of scarce resources, goods, services, or an artificial restriction of demand. Rationing controls the size of the ration, which is one's allowed portion of the resources being distributed on a particular ...

') is often u ...

company

MBNA MBNA Corporation was a bank holding company and parent company of wholly owned subsidiary MBNA America Bank, N.A., headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, prior to being acquired by Bank of America in 2006. History The former Maryland National ...

America, a major contributor to his father's political campaigns. By 1998, Biden had risen to the rank of executive vice president. During the 2020 election, Hunter Biden was targeted by the Trump administration due to his connections with Ukrainian holdings company

Burisma Burisma Holdings Limited ( uk, Бурісма Холдингс) is a holding company for a group of energy exploration and production companies. It is registered in Limassol, Cyprus, but based in Kyiv, Ukraine. Burisma Holdings has operated in t ...

, arguing that Joe had engaged in

nepotism Nepotism is an advantage, privilege, or position that is granted to relatives and friends in an occupation or field. These fields may include but are not limited to, business, politics, academia, entertainment, sports, fitness, religion, an ...

to get him a position on the board.

Naomi "Amy" Biden

Naomi Christina Biden, nicknamed "Amy", was born on November 8, 1971, in Wilmington, Delaware. She died in the same car crash as her mother Neilia on December 18, 1972, when she was just over a year old.

Ashley Biden

Ashley Blazer Biden was born on June 8, 1981, in Wilmington, Delaware. She is the only child from Joe Biden's second marriage. Biden attended

Wilmington Friends School Wilmington Friends School is a private Preschool- 12 school in unincorporated New Castle County, Delaware, United States, near Wilmington. It is affiliated with the Society of Friends, also known as the Quakers. History The school was founded i ...

, a private school run by the

Religious Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...

in Wilmington. When Biden was in elementary school, she discovered that the cosmetics company

Bonne Bell Bonne Bell is a cosmetics Cosmetics are constituted mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources, or synthetically created ones. Cosmetics have various purposes. Those designed for personal care and skin care can b ...

tested its products on animals. She wrote a letter to the company asking them to change their policy on animal testing. She later got involved in dolphin conservation, inspiring her father to work with Congresswoman

Barbara Boxer Barbara Sue Boxer (née Levy; born November 11, 1940) is an American politician and lobbyist who served in the United States Senate, representing California from 1993 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as the U.S. ...

to write and pass the 1990 Dolphin Protection Consumer Information Act. Biden made an appearance before members of the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

to lobby for the legislation. She is married to physician

Howard Krein Howard David Krein (born 1966/1967) is an American otolaryngologist, plastic surgeon, and business executive. He is the husband of Ashley Biden, the daughter of United States President Joe Biden. He is an assistant professor of otolaryngology at ...

Grandchildren

Joe Biden has married twice and fathered four children. His seven grandchildren come from his two sons, five from Hunter and two from Beau. * from

Beau Biden Joseph Robinette "Beau" Biden III (February 3, 1969 – May 30, 2015) was an American politician, lawyer, and officer in the Army Judge Advocate General's Corps from Wilmington, Delaware. The oldest child of current U.S. president Joe Bid ...

(Joseph R. Biden III) (1969–2015), ** Two children with his wife Hallie: Natalie and Hunter. * from

Hunter Biden Robert Hunter Biden (born February 4, 1970) is an American attorney who is the second son of President of the United States, U.S. President Joe Biden and his first wife Neilia Hunter Biden. He is also a hedge fund, venture capital, and privat ...

(Robert Hunter Biden) (b. 1970) ** Three daughters with his first wife Kathleen:

Naomi Naomi or Naomie may refer to: People and biblical figures * Naomi (given name), a female given name and a list of people with the name * Naomi (biblical figure), Ruth's mother-in-law in the Old Testament Book of Ruth * Naomi (Romanian singer) (bo ...

, Finnegan, and Maisy. ** Hunter is the biological and legal father of a child, identified in court documents as NJR, with Lunden Roberts. ** One son with his second wife Melissa Cohen: Beau.

Pets

Biden had a

German Shepherd The German Shepherd or Alsatian is a German breed of working dog of medium to large size. The breed was developed by Max von Stephanitz using various traditional German herding dogs from 1899. It was originally bred as a herding dog, for he ...

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. Major is a rescue dog who was adopted from the Delaware Humane Association by Joe and Jill Biden in 2018, but he was given to family friends after a biting incident at the White House. He had another German Shepherd, Champ, who was with the Bidens when Joe Biden was vice president from 2009 to 2017, but died early into Joe Biden's term as President. In December 2021, Biden announced the addition of a puppy named

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

to his family. On , the Bidens announced that they had adopted

Willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...

, a

tabby cat A tabby is any domestic cat (''Felis catus'') with a distinctive 'M'-shaped marking on its forehead; stripes by its eyes and across its cheeks, along its back, and around its legs and tail; and (differing by tabby type), characteristic striped, d ...

Tree of descendants

File:Joe Biden presidential portrait (cropped).jpg, Joe Biden File:Jill Biden official portrait 2.jpg,

Jill Biden Jill Tracy Jacobs Biden (born June 3, 1951) is an American educator and the current first lady of the United States since 2021, as the wife of President Joe Biden. She was the second lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017 when her hus ...

File:BeauBiden-DOJ2013 (cropped).jpg,

File:R. Hunter Biden at Center for Strategic & International Studies (cropped).jpg,

File:Ashley Biden in 2016.png,

Ashley Biden Ashley Blazer Biden (born June 8, 1981) is an American social worker, activist, philanthropist, and fashion designer. Her parents are U.S. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden. She served as the executive director of the Delaware Cente ...

Parents

Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden Jr. was born on November 20, 1942, at St. Mary's Hospital in

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U ...

, to Catherine Eugenia "Jean" Biden (''née'' Finnegan; July 7, 1917January 8, 2010) and Joseph Robinette Biden Sr. (November 13, 1915September 2, 2002), who married in 1941. After the death of Jean Finnegan Biden on January 8, 2010, President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

traveled to Wilmington, Delaware, to attend her January 12 funeral. Joseph Sr. was initially wealthy but suffered financial setbacks around the time Joe Jr. was born, and for several years the family lived with Jean's parents. Scranton fell into economic decline during the 1950s and Joseph Sr. could not find steady work. Beginning in 1953, the family lived in an apartment in

, then moved to a house in

. Joseph Sr. later became a successful

used-car salesman The automobile salesperson is one of many sales professions. The automobile salesman is a retail salesperson, who sells new or used cars. Unlike traditional retail sales, car sales are sometimes negotiable. Salesmen are employed by new car de ...

, maintaining the family in a middle-class lifestyle. Joe Sr. and Catherine are buried together at St. Joseph on the Brandywine Cemetery in

. Their gravesites are near the graves of their daughter-in-law

Neilia Hunter Biden Neilia Hunter Biden (July 28, 1942 – December 18, 1972) was an American teacher and the first wife of Joe Biden, the 46th and current president of the United States. She died in a car crash in 1972 with her one-year-old daughter, Naomi. Her t ...

, their granddaughter

, and grandson

Beau Beau may refer to: * Beau (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name, nickname or surname * Beau (guitarist) (born 1946), songwriter and 12-string guitar specialist * Beau (grape), another name for the Italian wine grape ...

Siblings

Joe Biden is the oldest of four siblings in a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

family, followed by his younger sister

Valerie Biden Owens Valerie Biden Owens (November 5, 1945) is an American political strategist, campaign manager and former educator. She is the younger sister of Joe Biden, the 46th and current President of the United States. In 2016, president Barack Obama nom ...

(born 1945), and two younger brothers, James Brian "Jim" Biden (born 1949) and Francis William "Frank" Biden (born 1953). Valerie was one of the campaign managers for Joe Biden's presidential campaigns. Biden's niece Missy Owens (daughter of Valerie Biden Owens) has also worked in politics. *

(born 1945), campaign manager and political strategist. Appointed by

as advisor to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

71st General Assembly. She played a pivotal role in all of her brother's political campaigns. She was the campaign manager during all of his Senate elections and for his

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

and

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

presidential campaigns, and was a senior advisor to his successful 2020 presidential campaign. *James B. "Jim" Biden (born 1949), healthcare executive *Francis William "Frank" Biden (born 1953), non-attorney advisor to Bergman Law Group,

Boca Raton, Florida Boca Raton ( ; es, Boca Ratón, link=no, ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It was first incorporated on August 2, 1924, as "Bocaratone," and then incorporated as "Boca Raton" in 1925. The population was 97,422 in the ...

Grandparents

Paternal

Joseph Sr.'s parents, Mary Elizabeth (''née'' Robinette) Biden (1894–1943) and Joseph Harry Biden (1893–1941), an oil businessman from

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, were of

, French, and Irish descent. Biden's paternal third great-grandfather, William Biden (1789–1849), was born in England and emigrated to the United States, where he settled in Maryland. According to historian Eddy Greenfield, he was born in

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

, and was christened at St John the Baptist's Church in

Westbourne, West Sussex Westbourne is a village, civil parish and electoral ward in the Chichester District of West Sussex, England. It is located north east of Emsworth. The parish includes the hamlets of Woodmancote and Aldsworth, and once included the settlements of ...

, on 8March 1789. William was the second child and son of James Biden (born November 1767) and Ann Silverlock (born March 1766), who had married on 16 May 1785. James Biden, Biden's paternal fourth great-grandfather, was from

Pagham Pagham is a coastal village and civil parish in the Arun district of West Sussex, England, with a population of around 6,100. It lies about two miles to the west of Bognor Regis. Governance Pagham is part of the electoral ward called Pagham a ...

. He was the son of Richard Biden, Biden's paternal fifth great-grandfather, and his wife Susan, beyond which the paternal family line cannot be traced. A possible connection may also exist to the family of a William Henry Biden, who was from

Houghton, Cambridgeshire Houghton is a village in Cambridgeshire, England, approximately east of Huntingdon on the A1123 road, and south of RAF Wyton. It lies on the north bank of the River Great Ouse, by Houghton Mill. Houghton is in the civil parish of Houghton a ...

, and lived from 1791 to 1843. This William Henry was a son of John Biden (died 28 July 1796) and his wife Ann Beaumont, who had married in 1781. The seventh of eight children and the family's fifth son, William Henry and his elder brother,

Christopher Biden Christopher Biden ( 1789 – 25 February 1858) was a British officer in the East India Company Mercantile Marine. He came from the village of Houghton in Huntingdonshire. Retiring after more than twenty years at sea, he wrote a book about naval ...

(1789–1858), served as officers in the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

merchant marine, both eventually becoming captains of

East Indiamen East Indiaman was a general name for any sailing ship operating under charter or licence to any of the East India trading companies of the major European trading powers of the 17th through the 19th centuries. The term is used to refer to vesse ...

. William Henry commanded mid-sized vessels before his death at

Rangoon Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...

in 1843. Christopher Biden subsequently became an official in the Madras Civil Service (later the

Indian Civil Service The Indian Civil Service (ICS), officially known as the Imperial Civil Service, was the higher civil service of the British Empire in India during British rule in the period between 1858 and 1947. Its members ruled over more than 300 million ...

), and his descendants settled in India. He died at Madras in 1858. In 1981, Christopher's great-great-grandson, Leslie Dunn Biden, then living in Nagpur, wrote to Joe Biden about the possible family connection after reading about him in the ''

Illustrated Weekly of India ''The Illustrated Weekly of India'' was an English-language weekly newsmagazine publication in India. It started publication in 1880 (as ''Times of India'' Weekly Edition; later renamed as ''The Illustrated Weekly of India'' in 1923) and ceasing ...

''. After discussing their genealogy, they promised to stay in touch but did not resume correspondence before Leslie's death in 1983. During a 2013 visit to India, Joe Biden referred to Leslie's letter, mentioning a "Biden from Mumbai" had suggested their "mutual great-great-great-great-something-or-other" named George had "worked for the East India Company back in the 1700s."

Maternal

Jean's parents were Geraldine Catherine (''née'' Blewitt) Finnegan and Ambrose Joseph Finnegan from Scranton, Pennsylvania. Ambrose was born in

Olyphant, Pennsylvania Olyphant is a borough in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is northeast of downtown Scranton, on the Lackawanna River in the heart of the anthracite region of the state. Its main source of employment was the mining and shipping o ...

in 1883, and attended

Santa Clara University Santa Clara University is a private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university's campus surrounds the historic Mis ...

where he was a star quarterback on their football team. After college, he worked for real estate investor

Major Bowes Edward Bowes (June 14, 1874 – June 13, 1946), professionally known as Major Edward Bowes, was an American radio personality of the 1930s and 1940s whose ''Major Bowes Amateur Hour'' was the best-known amateur talent show on radio during its 18 ...

in San Francisco until the

1906 San Francisco earthquake At 05:12 Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). High-intensity sha ...

wiped out his boss's investments. He then returned to the Scranton area where he worked for many years as an newspaper advertising salesman and then as librarian for two Scranton newspapers. He died in 1957. Jean was of

descent, with roots variously attributed to

and

County Londonderry County Londonderry ( Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster. B ...

. Irish genealogists presented Joe Biden with his Irish maternal family history on his visit there in 2016. Joe's matrilenial great-grandfather (Geraldine's father),

Edward Francis Blewitt Edward Francis Blewitt (January 2, 1859 May 26, 1926) was an American civil engineer, businessman, and politician who served as a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 22nd district from 1907 to 1910. He was a maternal grea ...

, the child of Irish emigrants from Rappagh,

Ballina, County Mayo Ballina ( ; ) is a town in north County Mayo, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It lies at the mouth of the River Moy near Killala Bay, in the Moy valley and Parish of Kilmoremoy, with the Ox Mountains to the east and the Nephin Beg Range, Nephin ...

, was a member of the

Pennsylvania State Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered ev ...

. With all Joe Biden's maternal ancestors, and his paternal great-grandmother Mary Ann Hanafee, having purely Irish origins, this makes Joe Biden 62.5% of Irish descent.