What year did Joe Biden first wife and daughter pass?
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Executive summary
Joe Biden’s first wife, Neilia Hunter Biden, and their 13‑month‑old daughter, Naomi Christina Biden, died in a car crash on December 18, 1972 [1] [2]. The deaths occurred just weeks after Biden’s election to the U.S. Senate and have been marked publicly by Biden and reported repeatedly in major outlets [3] [4].
1. The basic facts: what happened and when
On December 18, 1972, Neilia Hunter Biden and the couple’s infant daughter Naomi were broadsided by a tractor‑trailer while out shopping; both were pronounced dead at the hospital [2] [1]. Contemporary and retrospective accounts consistently date the crash to December 18, 1972 and identify Naomi as about 13 months old at the time [5] [6].
2. Why the date is emphasized in coverage
News organizations and biographical sources repeatedly mark the December 18, 1972 anniversary because the crash came weeks after Biden’s November 1972 election to the U.S. Senate, a timing that profoundly shaped his personal and political life [4] [7]. Major outlets — including PBS, AP and HISTORY — have published anniversary pieces and memorial reports that restate the December 1972 date [3] [4] [2].
3. The human consequences reported at the time
Reporting and biographies note that the two surviving sons, Beau and Hunter, were in the car and suffered serious injuries but survived; Biden was sworn into the Senate from a hospital bedside two weeks later while his sons recovered [1] [3]. Accounts describe the crash as a turning point in Biden’s life, prompting near‑withdrawal from public office before colleagues urged him to continue [4] [8].
4. How multiple sources corroborate the year
Independent outlets and reference works — such as The Independent, Biography.com, HISTORY, and Wikipedia — all record the deaths as occurring in December 1972, providing multiple, consistent attestations of the year [5] [8] [2] [1]. Anniversary reporting in 2022 and 2024 similarly framed those years as 50th and 52nd observances of the 1972 crash [4] [9].
5. Why this detail matters in public narrative
Journalists and biographers link the 1972 deaths to recurring themes in Biden’s public persona — his openness about grief and empathy for others — and to later family events, such as Beau Biden’s death in 2015; coverage of the original crash year reinforces that biographical arc [4] [10]. Political coverage of Biden’s career frequently cites the 1972 tragedy to explain his personal resilience and the role of his later wife, Jill, who married him in 1977 and helped raise his surviving sons [3] [7].
6. What the sources do not say
Available sources do not mention any credible dispute over the year 1972 for the deaths of Neilia and Naomi; all provided reporting and reference entries consistently list December 1972 [2] [1] [5]. Sources in the set do not present alternate dates or challenge the factual timeline described above [8] [4].
7. Context and caveats about secondary details
While all cited pieces agree on the year and date, they emphasize different human details — the ages of the children, how Biden responded politically and personally, and later commemorations — so readers should note that narratives vary in emphasis though not in the core chronology [5] [6] [3]. For any claim beyond the deaths’ date and immediate circumstances (for example, legal findings about the crash or long‑term medical specifics), available sources do not provide exhaustive information and should be consulted directly for more detail [2] [1].
8. Takeaway
The death of Neilia Hunter Biden and Naomi Christina Biden occurred on December 18, 1972, a fact confirmed across multiple major outlets and reference works; the event came weeks after Joe Biden’s election to the Senate and has been commemorated repeatedly by the family and press [2] [1] [4].