Barack Obama Early Years and Education: 1961-1991

A. Hawaii/Seattle: 1961-1967

Born in Hawaii, Barack Obama moved with his mother to Seattle from 1962 to 1963, and a year after returning to Hawaii, in 1964, she divorced his father. From September 1966 to June 1967, Obama attended Kindergarten at Noelani Elementary School on Oahu.

B. Indonesia: 1967-1971

Obama’s mother moved them to Indonesia in October of 1967, and Obama attended the Catholic school Fransiskus Assisi School in Jakarta, Indonesia, before transferring to Besuki Public School. He was registered at Fransiskus Assisi under the name Barry Soetoro by his step-father, Lolo Soetoro. The document lists Barry Soetoro as an Indonesian citizen, born on Aug. 4, 1961, in Honolulu, and shows his Muslim step-father listed Barack Obama s religion as Islam.

C. Hawaii: 1971-1979

Obama returned to Hawaii to live with his grandparents, and at the age of 10 in 1971, was enrolled as a fifth-grader at Punahou School, a private college preparatory school, where he graduated from high school in 1979. He attended Sunday school at First Unitarian Church in Honolulu in 1971 and 1972.

D. California: 1979-1981

Obama moved to California after high school graduation and attended Occidental College from the fall of 1979 through spring 1981, then transferred to Columbia in New York in his junior year. His transcripts, protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) passed in 1974, have not been made publically available.

E. New York: 1981-1983

Obama moved to New York City to attend Columbia College, Columbia University in the City of New York’s traditional undergraduate liberal arts college, in the fall of 1981. He lived there until graduation with a BA in Political Science on May 16, 1983, and for a period of time afterward. His transcripts, protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) passed in 1974, have not been made publically available.

Source documentation to the above:

1. Published two poems in the Occidental College poetry journal Feast, available at the Library of Congress website, Spring 1982

2. Article written by Barack Obama and published in the Columbia University weekly magazine The Sundial, “Breaking The War Mentality,” Mar. 10, 1983

3. Registration document from Fransiskus Assisi, Jan. 1, 1968

4. Article published in Columbia College Today by Shira Boss-Bicak about Obama’s background, Jan. 2005

5. Los Angeles Times article student recollections of Obama while he was attending Occidental College, Jan. 29, 2007

6. Los Angeles Times article on Obama’s childhood in Indonesia, Mar. 15, 2007

7. Chicago Tribune article quotes former classmates and teachers as having known Obama at the school, Mar. 25, 2007

8. New York Times Article, “Obama’s Account of New York Years Often Differs From What Others Say,” Oct. 30, 2007 (Accessed 3-20-15)

9. The Seattle Times, “Obama’s mother known here as ‘uncommon,'” April 8, 2008 (Accessed 4-9-15)

10. Columbia University website, Nov. 5, 2008 (Accessed 3-20-15)

11. The Honolulu Advertiser, “Obama’s Hawaii boyhood homes drawing gawkers,” Nov. 9, 2008 (Accessed 4-9-15)

12. The Maui News, “Retired teachers on Maui recall young, ‘cute’ student Barry,” Jan. 21, 2009 (Accessed 4-8-15)

13. Columbia College Today, Jan/Feb 2009 (Accessed 3-24-15)

14. New York Times article with interview of Obama’s friend while at Columbia, Jan. 20, 2009

15. The Daily, University of Washington, June 21, 2010 (Accessed 4-9-15)

16. Smithsonian.com Article, May 2012, “A Journey to Obama’s Kenya” (Accessed 3-20-15)

17. Los Angeles Time Article, May 30, 2012 (Accessed 3-20-15)

18. Wisconsin State Journal, “David Maraniss treks the globe to tell Obama’s story, with out-of-this-world results,” June 17, 2012 (Accessed 4-9-15)

19. UUworld.org, “Barack Obama’s Unitarian Universalist connection,” Aug. 15, 2012 (Accessed on 3-27-15)

20. The Telegraph, “Barack Obama opens up about his absent dad on Father’s Day,” June 16, 2013 (Accessed 4-9-15)

21. Orange County Register Article, “Take the Obama commencement quiz,” June 13, 2014 (Accessed 3-20-15)

22. Miller Center (Accessed 3-20-15)

23. Occidental College profile on Obama

24. U.S. Department of Education site (Accessed 3-20-15

25. Columbia University website FAQ (Accessed 3-20-15)

26. Columbia College website (Accessed 3-20-15)

27. Developing Communities Project website (Accessed 3-20-15)

28. NYPIRG Alumni (Accessed 3-20-15)

29. Punahou School website (Accessed on 3-26-15)

30. Republic of Kenya, County Government of Siaya website (Accessed 4-9-15)

31. The White House blog, 4/29/2015