Facts about Barack Obama!

1. Barack Hussein Obama is named after his father, Barack Hussein Obama, Sr. (1936-1982). “Barack” means “blessing/blessed/to bless” in Swahili and Semitic languages, and “Hussein” is a Semitic word meaning “good” or “beautiful.” Swahili was Obama Sr.’s native language.

2. Obama (who was often called “Barry” or “Bar”) was born on August 4, 1961, at the Kapi’olani Medical Center for Women and Children in Honolulu, Hawaii.

3. With the help of Ann’s parents, Obama received a scholarship to Punahou, a prestigious prep school in Hawaii. He graduated in 1979 with honours.


4. Obama's mother died in 1995 of ovarian and uterine cancer. Obama and his sister, Maya, spread her ashes in the Pacific Ocean off Hawaii.g On December 23, 2008, Obama spread his grandmother’s ashes in the same spot.

5. Obama was the first black president of the Harvard Law Review in 1990. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1991.

5. Obama worked at Baskin-Robbins as a teenager and now dislikes ice cream. He also has worked in construction.


6. In high school, playing basketball offered him some companionship, though he often felt he didn’t completely belong with his peers. To try to fit in, he also tried drinking, smoking pot, and experimenting with cocaine.

7. In 1995, Obama published his autobiography, Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance. He won a Grammy award for the audio version of the book. His second book, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts of Reclaiming the American Dream, was endorsed by Oprah Winfrey and became a best seller. Its title was derived from a sermon by Obama’s former pastor and controversial figure, Reverend Jeremiah Wright.

8 Obama is a Christian and a former member of the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago. He has never been a Muslim.

9. Barack met his wife Michelle Robinson, a South Side Chicago native, while he was interning at the Chicago law firm of Sidley Austin. She was his mentor and was not initially attracted to him--but after a two-year courtship, they were married in the fall of 1992 at the Trinity United Church of Christ. Reverend Wright presided and would also later baptize their two daughters, Malia Ann (born July 4,1998) and Natasha (“Sasha”) (June 10, 2001).


10. Obama achieved celebrity status after his speech to the Democratic National Convention in 2004, launching what has been called “Obamamania.”





11. Obama was the first to raise the threat of avian flu on the Senate floor.


12. Obama’s youthful appeal, his social networking on the Internet, and even his texting both promoted awareness of his campaign and created a loyal following. His historic use of the Internet will likely act as a template for future presidential elections.

13. Obama once said the three men he admired the most were Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther King, Jr.d


Source: randomfact.com