The timeline below reflects some of the highlights of Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton’s lives. In blue, you’ll discover facts around Bill Clinton, and in red you’ll learn more about Hillary Clinton.
1968
January 1, 1968
Bill Clinton and childhood friend Mack McLarty meet presidential candidate Barry Goldwater when he was in Northwest Arkansas to give a Symposium speech at the University of Arkansas In the 1960s, Bill Clinton’s political career began. Clinton (pictured far left) is seen here in 1968 in Northwest Arkansas with David Mullins, University of Arkansas President; Mack McLarty, University of Arkansas student body President; and U.S. Senator and former presidential candidate Barry Goldwater.
Read more1971
January 1, 1971
Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham meet at Yale Law School. After Bill could not stop staring at Hillary, she walked over to him and introduced herself.
1972
January 1, 1972
Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham campaign for Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern. McGovern lost the 1972 Presidential Election to Richard Nixon.
1973
August 1, 1973
Bill Clinton accepts a teaching position at the University of Arkansas School of Law in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Bill taught constitutional law, criminal procedure, and admiralty law for $14,709 a year.
Read more1974
January 1, 1974
Bill Clinton ran for the United States House of Representatives in 1974. Twenty-eight year old Bill Clinton campaigns against John Paul Hammerschmidt, an incredibly popular Republican incumbent. Bill loses the election but captured 48.2% of the vote, the closest that any Democrat came to beating Hammerschmidt during his 26 years in Congress.”
Read more1974
September 1, 1974
Hillary accepts a teaching position at the University of Arkansas School of Law. While at the university, Hillary teaches Criminal and Constitutional Law, founds the Legal Aid Clinic, and works with prison advocacy.
1976
January 1, 1976
Bill runs for Attorney General. Bill decided to run for Attorney General instead of challenging Hammerschmidt again. He faces two opponents in the Democratic primary. After winning the nomination, he does not face a Republican challenger for the office.
Read more1991
October 3, 1991
On the morning of October 3, 1991, on the steps of the Old State House in Little Rock, Bill Clinton announced that he was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. It was the same historic place where he had announced for Governor in 1978.
Read more1992
July 16, 1992
On the evening of July 16, Bill Clinton accepted the Democratic Nomination for President in a speech to the Democratic National Convention in New York. Clinton would go on to be elected President on November 4, defeating President George Herbert Walker Bush by 370-168 electoral votes and claiming victory in a speech at the Old State House in Little Rock.
Read more1993
January 20, 1993
Bill and Hillary leave the Arkansas Governors Mansion and move to Washington, DC. President Bill Clinton takes the oath of office and delivers his First Inaugural Address on January 20. Hillary Clinton becomes First lady of the United States and leads the administration’s efforts on health care reform.
Read more1995
September 5, 1995
On September 5, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton delivers remarks to the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China, boldly declaring, “If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, it is that human rights are women’s rights…. And women’s rights are human rights.”
Read more1996
August 30, 1996
Bill Clinton was nominated for a second term at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago and delivered his acceptance speech on August 30. He was reelected to a second term as President on November 5, defeating Senator Bob Dole by 379-159 electoral votes. He again gave his victory speech on the steps of the Old State House in Little Rock.
Read more1997
January 20, 1997
President Bill Clinton takes the oath of office and delivers his Second Inaugural Address on January 20. The Inaugural Poem was written and delivered by Miller Williams of Fayetteville.
Read more2000
November 7, 2000
While serving as First Lady of the United States, Hillary Rodham Clinton won election to the United States Senate from New York on November 7.
2004
November 18, 2004
The William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum opened on November 18.
2007
December 16, 2007
Hillary kicks off her campaign for the Democratic Nomination for President with a speech at Council Bluffs, Iowa, on December 16.
Read more2008
June 7, 2008
Senator Hillary Clinton was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic Nomination for President, conceding to Senator Barack Obama on June 7.
2009
January 21, 2009
Senator Hillary Clinton, nominated for Secretary of State by President Barack Obama, is confirmed by the Senate (94-2) on January 21. She was sworn into office that same day and served through February 1, 2013.
2010
January 22, 2010
The Clinton House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 22. On August 3, the Fayetteville City Council voted unanimously to rename the street in front of the Clinton House at 930 California Boulevard to Clinton Drive.
Read more2016
July 28, 2016
Hillary Clinton accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination for president in an acceptance speech at the Convention in Philadelphia on July 28, the first woman to be nominated by a national political party. She won the nationwide popular vote by almost 3 million but lost to Donald Trump in the electoral college tally. Clinton gracefully conceded in an inspirational speech.
Read moreToday
August 24, 2022
Bill and Hillary Clinton continue their lifetime of service. The Clinton Foundation was established on the simple belief that everyone deserves a chance to succeed, everyone has a responsibility to act, and we all do better when we work together. For more than two decades, those values have energized the Foundation’s efforts to address big challenges, create new opportunities, and make a difference in people’s lives across the United States and around the world.
Read more