William "Bill" Jefferson Clinton was born William Jefferson Blythe IV. Two months before he was born, his father died in an automobile accident. When he was four years old, Bill Clinton's mother married an automobile dealer named Roger Clinton. The future president took his stepfather's last name.
As a boy, Clinton attended public schools in Hot Springs, Arkansas. When he was a high school student, he met President JOHN KENNEDY at the White House. Clinton decided to pursue a career in public service. In 1964, he enrolled in Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. In 1968, he graduated from Georgetown with honors. The same year, Clinton won a Rhodes scholarship. He used the scholarship to study for two years at Oxford University in England.
In 1970, Clinton returned to the United States. As a student in England, he considered studying law at the University of Arkansas. Joining the ROTC at Arkansas would have enabled him to avoid serving in the Vietnam War. But Clinton later learned that he had drawn a high draft number. Once he had little chance of being drafted, he decided to enroll in law school at Yale University. Clinton graduated from the Yale law school in 1973.
In 1974, Clinton ran for the U.S. House of Representatives. He lost the race. For the next two years, he taught law at the University of Arkansas. In 1976, Clinton was elected attorney general of Arkansas. When his term ended, he practiced law in a private firm. In 1978, Clinton was elected governor of Arkansas. He became the youngest governor in the United States. In 1980, he was defeated in his race for reelection.
In 1982, Clinton was reelected governor of Arkansas. He held the job for the next 10 years. In 1992, he ran for president. During the primaries, he fought off charges about his character. He was accused of being unfaithful to his wife. But Clinton persisted. The Democrats nominated him for president. In the general election, he defeated President GEORGE BUSH. Bill Clinton was inaugurated in 1993.
