Beau Biden

Joseph Robinette "Beau" Biden III (February 3, 1969 – May 30, 2015) was an American politician, attorney, and officer in the Army Judge Advocate General's Corps from Wilmington, Delaware. He was the eldest of three children from the marriage of former U.S. Vice President and 2020 Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his first wife, Neilia Biden. He served as the Attorney General of Delaware and as a Major in the Delaware Army National Guard.

Beau Biden
44th Attorney General of Delaware
In office
January 2, 2007 – January 6, 2015
Governor
Preceded byCarl Danberg
Succeeded byMatthew Denn
Personal details
Born
Joseph Robinette Biden III

(1969-02-03)February 3, 1969
Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.
DiedMay 30, 2015(2015-05-30) (aged 46)
Bethesda, Maryland, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)
Hallie Olivere
(
m. 2002)
Children2
ParentsJoe Biden (father)
Neilia Hunter (mother)
RelativesSee Biden family
EducationUniversity of Pennsylvania (BA)
Syracuse University (JD)
WebsiteOfficial website
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Army
Years of service2002–2015
Rank Major
Unit261st Signal Brigade
Battles/warsIraq War
AwardsLegion of Merit
Bronze Star Medal

Early life and family

Biden was born in Wilmington, Delaware, the first son of former U.S. Senator and Vice President Joe Biden and his first wife Neilia (née Hunter). On December 18, 1972, Biden's mother and younger sister Naomi were killed in an automobile accident while Christmas shopping. Beau was not quite four years old, and his brother Hunter was two years old. Both were in the car when the accident took place but survived with critical injuries. Beau suffered multiple broken bones while Hunter sustained injuries to his skull.

According to some accounts, Beau and Hunter encouraged their father to marry again, even going so far as to ask him "when were 'we' going to get married."[1] In June 1977, eight-year-old Biden welcomed Jill Jacobs as a "second mother". His half-sister Ashley was born in 1981.[2]

Biden married Hallie Olivere in 2002. They had daughter Natalie in 2004 and son Robert Hunter Biden II in 2006.[3][4]

Career

Biden graduated from Archmere Academy, his father's high school alma mater, and the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a member of the Psi Upsilon fraternity. He was also a graduate of Syracuse University College of Law, as was his father. After graduating from law school he clerked for Judge Steven McAuliffe of the United States District Court of New Hampshire.[5] From 1995 to 2004, he worked at the United States Department of Justice in Philadelphia, first as Counsel to the Office of Policy Development and later as a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney's Office. In 2004, he became a partner in the law firm of Bifferato, Gentilotti, Biden & Balick, where he worked for two years before being elected Delaware attorney general.[6]

At the 2008 Democratic National Convention, after Joe Biden was nominated for Vice President of the United States, Beau introduced his father. 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.[7][8]

Military service
The Delaware National Guard joint headquarters building in New Castle was renamed in Biden's honor after his death.

Biden joined the military in 2003 and attended The JAG School at the University of Virginia.[9] as a member of the Delaware Army National Guard and was a Major in the Judge Advocate General's Corps as part of the 261st Signal Brigade in Smyrna, Delaware.[10][11]

Biden's unit was activated to deploy to Iraq on October 3, 2008, and sent to Fort Bliss, Texas, for pre-deployment training,[12] the day after his father participated in the 2008 presidential campaign's only vice presidential debate. His father was on the record as saying, "I don't want him going. But I tell you what, I don't want my grandson or my granddaughters going back in 15 years, and so how we leave makes a big difference."[13]

Biden traveled to Washington, D.C., from Iraq in January 2009 for the presidential inauguration and his father's swearing-in as Vice President,[14] then returned to Iraq.[15] Biden received a visit at Camp Victory from his father on July 4, 2009.[16]

Biden returned from Iraq in September 2009, his yearlong stint on active duty complete.[17] Biden had announced that during his deployment he would continue to actively serve as Delaware's Attorney General by working in conjunction with his office's senior staff in Delaware,[18] although a member of his unit related Biden saying he had turned over most of his attorney general work to his deputy so as to focus on his duties in Iraq.[19] For his service in Iraq, Biden was awarded the Bronze Star Medal.[20] After Biden's death, Army Chief of Staff Raymond Odierno delivered the eulogy at his funeral and presented a posthumous Legion of Merit for his service in the Delaware National Guard, stating "Beau Biden possessed the traits I have witnessed in only the greatest leaders."[21] He was also posthumously presented with The Delaware Conspicuous Service Cross, which is "awarded for heroism, meritorious service and outstanding achievement."[22]

Political career
Biden giving his victory speech after being elected Attorney General of Delaware in 2006, as his father and step-mother look on

In his first bid at political office, Biden ran for Attorney General of Delaware 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.[23]

After being elected, he appointed former Delaware Attorney General and International Judge Richard S. Gebelein as Chief Deputy Attorney General, and former assistant U.S. Attorney Richard G. Andrews was appointed as State Prosecutor. As Attorney General, Biden supported and enforced stronger registration requirements for sex offenders.[24][25]

Joe Biden resigned from the Senate following his 2008 election to the vice presidency. Governor Ruth Ann Minner named former Joe Biden aide Ted Kaufman to fill the vacant seat, but Kaufman made it clear that he would not be a candidate in the 2010 special election. It fueled speculation Beau would run at that time.[26] Biden's father stated after the announcement of Kaufman's appointment, "It is no secret that I believe my son, Attorney General, would make a great United States Senator just as I believe he has been a great attorney general. But Beau has made it clear from the moment he entered public life that any office he sought he would earn on his own.... [I]f he chooses to run for the Senate in the future, he will have to run and win on his own. He wouldn't have it any other way."[27]

In October 2009, Biden stated that he was considering a run for the Senate and that he would make a final decision in January. On January 25, Biden confirmed that he would forgo a Senate run so as to better focus on the prosecution of Earl Bradley, an infamous child-molestation suspect.[28]

On November 2, 2010, he was easily re-elected to a second term as Delaware Attorney General, beating Independent Party of Delaware candidate Doug Campbell by a large margin.[29]

Biden did not seek election to a third term as Attorney General in 2014.[30] In the spring of that year, he announced his intention to run for Governor of Delaware in the 2016 election to succeed term-limited Democratic Governor Jack Markell.[31][32] At the time of this announcement, the cancer that would kill Biden in 2015 had been diagnosed but was in remission, although this information was not public at the time.

Election results
Year Office Election Subject Party Votes % Opponent Party Votes %
2006 Attorney General General Joseph R. Biden III Democratic 133,152 52.5% Ferris Wharton Republican 120,062 47.4%
2010 Attorney General General Joseph R. Biden III Democratic 196,799 78.9% Doug Campbell Delaware Independent 52,517 21.1%

Illness and death

For the final few years of his life, Biden suffered from a brain tumor.[33][34] In May 2010, he was admitted to Christiana Hospital in Newark, Delaware, after complaining of a headache, numbness, and paralysis. Officials stated that he had suffered a "mild stroke".[34][35] Later that month, Biden was transferred to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia and kept for observation for several days.[35]

In August 2013, Biden was admitted to the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and diagnosed with brain cancer, after experiencing what White House officials called "an episode of disorientation and weakness."[36] A lesion was removed at that time. Biden had radiation and chemotherapy treatments and the cancer remained stable.[37] On May 20, 2015, he was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, because of a recurrence of brain cancer. He died there 10 days later, on May 30, 2015, at age 46. His funeral was held at St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church in Wilmington, Delaware, on June 6, 2015.[38] He was buried at St. Joseph's on the Brandywine in Greenville, Delaware.[33] He was survived by his wife and two children, his father, step-mother, and two younger siblings (a brother and a half-sister).

Biden's funeral Mass at St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church, Wilmington
External video
"Funeral Service for Beau Biden", C-SPAN[39]

Biden's large funeral was attended by President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, their daughters Malia and Sasha, former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State and former First Lady Hillary Clinton, former US Army Chief of Staff General Ray Odierno, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. At his funeral, he was awarded the Legion of Merit Award by General Odierno, for his services in the Iraq War. President Obama described Biden as "an original. He was a good man. He did in 46 years what most of us couldn't do in 146." At his funeral service, a solo rendition of the song "Til Kingdom Come" was performed by Chris Martin, the lead singer of the band Coldplay, of which Beau had been a fan.[40]

Posthumous awards and legacy

On November 4, 2015, Biden was posthumously awarded the Albert Schweitzer Leadership Award, the highest honor given by the Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY), for his service to mankind.[41] A portion of the 21st Century Cures Act (2016) was named the "Beau Biden Cancer Moonshot" initiative after him.[42][43][44]

On March 2, 2020, Joe Biden mentioned Beau in a speech, comparing him to former South Bend Mayor, Pete Buttigieg, after Buttigieg endorsed Biden for the 2020 presidential election.[45][46][47]

I don't think I've ever done this before, but [Buttigieg] reminds me of my son, Beau, and I know that may not mean much to most people, but to me, it's the highest compliment I can give any man or woman.[45][46]

gollark: It's now using 307MB of memory. If it hits 400MB then it hits its RAM limit and ???.
gollark: Where did Epicbot get *added* to?
gollark: Wow, 1860 harvested souls.
gollark: Troubling.
gollark: I can check the size of your harvested soul data on disk.

References
  1. Seelye, Katharine Q. (August 24, 2008). "Jill Biden Heads Toward Life in the Spotlight". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 10, 2008. Retrieved August 25, 2008.
  2. "A timeline of U.S. Sen. Joe Biden's life and career". San Francisco Chronicle. Associated Press. August 23, 2008. Archived from the original on September 25, 2008. Retrieved September 6, 2008.
  3. "Attorney General Joseph Robinette 'Beau' Biden III (DE)". votesmart.org. Retrieved August 26, 2008.
  4. Banks, Adelle M. (August 24, 2008). "Biden provides Catholic link, but renews abortion debate". USA Today. Religion News Service. Retrieved August 26, 2008.
  5. Brooks, David (June 2, 2015). "Beau Biden, late son of the vice president, clerked for a year in Concord". The Nashua Telegraph. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
  6. Bittle, Matt (January 12, 2015). "Delaware law firm hires Beau Biden". Delaware State News. Archived from the original on June 2, 2015.
  7. Connolly, Kevin (August 28, 2008). "Biden shows more bark than bite". BBC News. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  8. Broder, John M. (August 28, 2008). "Biden Opens New Phase With Attack on McCain". The New York Times. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  9. AG Biden being Promoted Sunday Archived May 17, 2012, at the Wayback Machine WGMD News, Kelli Steele, November 4, 2011. Retrieved November 7, 2011.
  10. "Joe Biden bids farewell to son, headed to Iraq", Los Angeles Times, Michael Finnegan, October 4, 2008. Retrieved November 1, 2008.
  11. Delaware National Guard Office of the Staff Judge Advocate Webpage Archived September 19, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 1, 2008.
  12. Murray, Shailagh (August 20, 2008). "Biden's Son Off to Iraq". The Washington Post.
  13. "Biden's Son Headed to Iraq in 2008". ABC News. Associated Press. August 16, 2007.
  14. "Beau Biden gets D.C. duty, will attend inauguration". The News Journal. January 15, 2009. Retrieved January 28, 2009.
  15. Gibson, Ginger (March 10, 2009). "Poll shows Castle over for Senate". The News Journal. Retrieved March 17, 2009.
  16. Chon, Gina (July 6, 2009). "Iraqis Say Reconciliation Is an Internal Matter". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on July 30, 2009. Retrieved July 10, 2009.
  17. Chase, Randall (October 1, 2009). "Vice president's son returns from Iraq". Army Times. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
  18. Biden, Beau (September 29, 2008). "Open Letter to Delawareans" (PDF) (Press release). Attorney General of Delaware. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 29, 2009. Retrieved April 18, 2009.
  19. "Beau Biden Lays Low Amidst Senate Talk". The Washington Post. CBS News. October 23, 2009. Archived from the original on October 25, 2009. Retrieved October 26, 2009.
  20. "Beau Biden, son of vice president, dies of brain cancer". Military Times. May 31, 2015. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
  21. "Odierno: Beau Biden had traits of 'greatest leaders'". The Hill. June 6, 2015. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
  22. "Mourners Pay Respect to Beau Biden in Delaware". NBC News. June 4, 2015. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
  23. State of Delaware 2006 Election Results (PDF). Delaware Department of Elections (Report). State of Delaware. November 7, 2006. p. 2. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
  24. Singh, Nadia (March 29, 2007). "Lawmakers Endorse Tougher Penalties On Sex Offenders". WMDT.
  25. "Delaware's enhanced sex offender law starts". The News Journal. Associated Press. January 7, 2008. Archived from the original on May 21, 2011. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  26. "Former Biden advisor picked as Senate replacement". CNN. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  27. Brumfield, Sarah (December 25, 2008). "Ted Kaufman: Biden's Replacement Picked". The Huffington Post. Associated Press.
  28. "D.C. Now". Los Angeles Times. January 25, 2010.
  29. "State Of Delaware – Elections Results". delaware.gov. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  30. Parra, Esteban (November 5, 2014). "Denn takes race for Attorney General". The News Journal. Retrieved November 15, 2014.
  31. "Beau Biden says he plans to run for governor in Delaware". CNN. April 17, 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  32. A message from Beau Biden Archived April 19, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, Beau Biden: Delaware's Attorney General, Wilmington, DE: Biden for Attorney General, 2014. Retrieved May 7, 2014.
  33. Kane, Paul (May 30, 2015). "Beau Biden, vice president's son, dies of brain cancer". The Washington Post.
  34. Shearmay, Michael D. (May 30, 2015). "Joseph R. Biden III, Vice President's Son, Dies at 46". The New York Times.
  35. Barish, Cris (August 21, 2013). "Beau Biden awaits cancer results". The News Journal. Wilmington, Del.
  36. Bernstein, Lenny (May 31, 2015). "Brain cancers like Beau Biden's kill about 15,000 adults each year". The Washington Post.
  37. FoxNews.com (May 31, 2015). "Beau Biden, son of Vice President Joe Biden, dies of brain cancer". Fox News Network, LLC. Archived from the original on July 12, 2015. Retrieved May 31, 2015.
  38. "In Biden's tragedy, Americans see their own".
  39. "Funeral Service for Beau Biden". C-SPAN. June 6, 2015. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
  40. "Chris Martin Performs Til Kingdom Come' for Beau Biden". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  41. "HOBY will honor Honorable Joseph R. "Beau" Biden". hoby.org. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
  42. Biden, Joe; Obama, Barack (December 13, 2016). "Remarks by the President and the Vice President at the 21st Century Cures Act Bill Signing". WhiteHouse.gov. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  43. American Association for Cancer Research (December 13, 2016). "AACR Commends President Obama for Signing the 21st Century Cures Act". Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  44. "Learn from Cures Act bipartisanship". Asbury Park Press. December 17, 2016. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  45. Bowden, John (March 2, 2020). "Biden: Buttigieg 'reminds me of my son Beau'". TheHill. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  46. "'He reminds me of my son Beau': Biden emotionally accepts Buttigieg's endorsement". CNN. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  47. Joe Biden: Pete Buttigieg reminds me of my son Beau (video). CNN. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
Legal offices
Preceded by
Carl Danberg		 Attorney General of Delaware
2007–2015		 Succeeded by
Matthew Denn
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