William Jefferson Clinton was born in Hope, Ark., on August 19, 1946. Clinton excelled as a student and a saxophone player while growing up, and a meeting with President John F. Kennedy while Clinton was in high school led him to enter a life of public service.

He graduated from Georgetown University and received a law degree from Yale University in 1973. After marrying Hillary Rodham in 1975, Clinton was elected Arkansas Attorney General in 1976 and won the governorship in 1978. After losing a bid for a second term, he regained the office four years later and served until he defeated incumbent George Bush in the 1992 presidential race.

Clinton became the first Democratic president since Franklin D. Roosevelt to win a second term. In 2004, Clinton released his autobiography, underwent heart bypass surgery and oversaw the opening of the Clinton Library in Little Rock, Ark.