How did Joe Biden’s wife Neilia and daughter Naomi die? They succeeded and, in November that year Biden, then 30, won the seat from Republican incumbent J Caleb Boggs. In 1972, Biden ran for a Delaware seat in the US senate, with his wife playing a key role in his campaign. The couple went on to have three children - sons Beau and Hunter and daughter Naomi, who was nicknamed Amy. Who was Joe Biden’s first wife?īiden met Neilia Hunter in 1963 on the beach in Nassau during spring break, when she was a sophomore at Syracuse University and he was a junior at the University of Delaware.įollowing his degree, Biden moved to Syracuse to attend law school and the couple married in 1966 while he was still studying there.Īfter his graduation, they moved to Wilmington in Delaware where he practised law and won a seat on New Castle County Council in 1970.īiden' first wife Neilia and their daughter Naomi are buried alongside his oldest son Beau Biden, who died of cancer in 2015, at a cemetery in Wilmington, Delaware. That moment in 1972 would not only change the presidential hopeful’s personal life, but would influence the way he conducts himself on the public stage. The 77-year-old was just embarking on his journey in politics when his life was changed irreparably by the death of his wife and daughter. (Getty)įor every politician, events of their past influence their political career and the person they are.īut for Joe Biden, the story is particularly poignant. Tragedy in the early stages of Joe Biden's career has influenced the way he conducts himself.

Joe biden first wife and child