M Barack Obama
Barack Obama (born 1961) made history as the 44th President (2009–2017), becoming the first African American to hold the office. He assumed leadership in the midst of the Great Recession and passed a massive stimulus package to revive the economy. Obama’s signature domestic achievement was the Affordable Care Act (2010) which expanded healthcare coverage. He ended U.S. combat operations in Iraq, ordered the operation that killed Osama bin Laden (2011), and championed initiatives on climate change, while also navigating partisan divisions.
Interesting anecdote: Obama is a known comic book aficionado. He grew up reading and collecting Spider-Man and Conan the Barbarian comics, proudly embracing his “nerdier” side. In fact, Marvel Comics even featured him in a 2009 issue of “The Amazing Spider-Man,” cementing his place in pop culture. His broad interests, from music to nerd culture, made him one of the more relatable modern presidents.
Explore more people
- John Adams
- John Adams
- Chester Arthur
- Joe Biden
- James Buchanan
- George Bush
- George Bush
- Jimmy Carter
- Grover Cleveland
- Bill Clinton
- Calvin Coolidge
- Dwight Eisenhower
- Millard Fillmore
- Gerald Ford
- James Garfield
- Warren Harding
- William Harrison
- Benjamin Harrison
- Rutherford Hayes
- Herbert Hoover
- Andrew Jackson
- Thomas Jefferson
- Andrew Johnson
- Lyndon Johnson
- John Kennedy
- Abraham Lincoln
- James Madison
- William McKinley
- James Monroe
- Richard Nixon
- Franklin Pierce
- James Polk
- Ronald Reagan
- Franklin Roosevelt
- Theodore Roosevelt
- William Taft
- Zachary Taylor
- Harry Truman
- Donald Trump
- John Tyler
- Martin Van Buren
- George Washington
- Woodrow Wilson
Want to explore other key figures?
Visit the complete People Index to discover more biographies.