Al Gore Life Chronology
March 31, 1948 Albert Arnold Gore is born at Columbia Hospital for
Women in Washington DC. A headline in the Nashville Tennessean
reads, "Well, Mr. Gore, here HE Is--On Page 1." Al splits his childhood
between the school year in Washington DC and summers and holidays
on the family farm in Carthage, Tennessee.
1952 Albert Gore Sr. is elected to the Senate, having defeated the
powerful chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee Kenneth D.
McKellar.
1956 Albert Gore Sr. refuses to sign the "Southern Manifesto," which
opposed federal efforts to desegregate schools. That same year, the
Interstate Highway Act is passed; Senator Gore helped write this major
piece of legislation and later assumed credit for it.
Summer 1956 At the 1956, Adlai Stevenson, the Democratic
presidential nominee, throws open the selection of his vice president to
the convention delegates. Senator Gore briefly challenges his
Tennessee colleague Senator Estes Kefauver for the vice presidency.
Under pressure from the kingmakers of the party and the Tennessee
delegation, however, Gore Sr. withdraws his name from consideration.
He would never again be in the running for national office.
Late 1950s Al Jr. is enrolled at St. Albans preparatory school in Washington D.C. which he attends through his graduation from high school.
1965 Al Gore meets Mary Elizabeth "Tipper" Aitcheson at a high school dance.
June 6, 1965 Al Gore graduates from St. Albans, where he was known for his work ethic, competitiveness, and confidence. Referred to as a "wooden Apollo" by one former teacher, Gore was captain of his football team, played basketball, and was a member of the art and government clubs.
1965-1969 Al Gore attends Harvard University, where he majors in government and studies under Martin Peretz and Richard Neustadt. After serving as freshman class president he withdrew from campus leadership positions. He spent much of his free time with his friends and with Tipper, who attended college in Boston to be close to Al.
1968 Al Gore attends the Democratic National Convention in Chicago with his father. The young Gore helps his father the Senator write an important anti-war speech.
June 12, 1969 Al graduates from Harvard with honors. He spent much of his senior year debating whether he should serve in Vietnam. While he opposed the war he knew that his service could help his father's reelection campaign in Tennessee.
August 1969 Al Gore enlists in the U.S. Army in Newark, New Jersey, hoping not to be recognized as a Senator's son. He spent two months in basic training at Ft. Dix.
October 1969 Al reports to Ft. Rucker, Alabama and is assigned to be an information officer for the U.S. Army Aviation School.
April 1970 Gore is recognized as "post soldier of the month" at Ft. Rucker.
May 19, 1970 Al Gore and Tipper Aitcheson are married at Washington's National Cathedral.
November 1970 Albert Gore Sr. loses his reelection race to Congressman Bill Brock, who was supported by President Nixon. Throughout the fall, while on weekend leave, Al campaigned in uniform with his father, but the Senator's anti-Vietnam stance cost him many votes in "The Volunteer State."
January 1971 Al Gore is sent to Vietnam as an army journalist, assigned to the 20th Engineer Brigade headquartered at Bien Hoa, an airbase twenty miles northeast of Saigon.
May 1971 Al Gore receives an honorable discharge from the army after he is accepted to Vanderbilt University's Graduate School of Religion.
1971-1976 Gore works at Nashville Tennessean, where his assignments include policy, Metro government and editorials.
August 6, 1973 Al and Tipper's first child, Karenna Gore, is born.
February 7, 1974 As the result of a sting set up by the Tennessean and local law enforcement, Al Gore breaks the story of a bribery scandal involving Nashville councilman Morris Haddox. Haddox is indicted but acquitted in a second trial after the first jury deadlocked.
1975-1976 Al Gore attends Vanderbilt University Law School.
March 1, 1976 After veteran Congressman Joe Evins announced his retirement, Gore quickly announces his candidacy for U.S. Representative from Tennessee's Fourth District at the Smith County Courthouse in Carthage.
November 2, 1976 Al Gore is elected to Congress. After the election he immediately begins to hold a series of town meetings across the district in order to stay in touch with his constituents, a practice he continued throughout his Congressional career.
June 5, 1977 Kristin Gore is born.
November 1978 Al Gore is reelected to Congress. He would be reelected twice more in 1980 and 1982.
January 7, 1979 Sarah Gore is born.
March 19, 1979 Gore delivers the first televised speech from House floor. During his years in Congress, Gore--known for his adoption of high-profile issues--was sometimes called "Prime Time Al."
March 1982 Al Gore introduces a comprehensive arms control proposal in Congress. His proposal serves as an example of Gore's tendency to master the details of complicated issues, including arms control, technology, and the environment.
October 19, 1982 Albert Arnold Gore III is born.
1983 Upon learning Tennessee Senator Howard Baker would not seek reelection, Gore declares his Senate candidacy.
July 11, 1984 Al Gore's sister Nancy LaFon Gore Hunger dies after a battle with lung cancer. At the 1996 Democratic National Convention. Gore would deliver an emotional speech about his sister's cancer battle.
November 6, 1984 Gore is elected to the U.S. Senate with more than 60% of the vote.
Spring 1985 Tipper Gore and Susan Baker (wife of Treasury Secretary James Baker) form the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) and begin a controversial crusade for parental guidelines on explicit content in the music industry.
June 29, 1987 Gore formally announces his campaign for the presidency on the steps of the Smith County Courthouse in Carthage. He would first face questions about marijuana use during this campaign.
March 8, 1988 As one of the nation's youngest presidential candidates, Gore wins five states in the Super Tuesday primaries (Arkansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Tennessee.) His almost successful strategy involved skipping the Iowa caucus in order to concentrate his efforts on the South.
April 1988 After a poor showing in New York Gore drops out of the presidential race. He vows to erase his fundraising debt and returns to the Senate.
April 3, 1989 Albert Gore III is struck by a car and seriously injured while leaving a Baltimore Orioles game. Al and Tipper stayed by his side as Albert III remained in the hospital for three weeks. In the aftermath of the accident, Al began work on a book about one of his passionate political causes, the environment.
November 6, 1990 Gore is reelected to Senate.
January 12, 1991 Gore is one of ten Democratic Senators who votes in favor of the Gulf War.
August 1991 Gore announces he will not run for the presidency in 1992 in order to spend more time with his family.
January 22, 1992 Gore publishes Earth in the Balance. The book debuts in 13th place on New York Times bestseller list.
July 9, 1992 Bill Clinton announces the selection of Gore as his vice-presidential running mate, suddenly returning Gore to the national stage.
November 3, 1992 Bill Clinton is elected president. Clinton and Gore create a working partnership that establishes Gore as one of the most powerful vice presidents in U.S. history.
August 6, 1993 As the president of the Senate, Gore casts the tie-breaking vote to pass Clinton's major economic plan.
November 9, 1993 On Larry King Live Gore debates Ross Perot over NAFTA. Gore's strong performance helps to change public opinion and ensure passage of the bill.
Fall 1995-Spring 1996 Gore makes seventy-one fundraising phone calls for the Clinton/Gore reelection campaign from the White House. In an infamous March 1997 press conference he contends that "no controlling legal authority" prohibited him from making the calls.
April 29, 1996 Gore attends fundraiser at Hsi Lai Buddhist Temple. He later states he believed it to be a community outreach event.
August 28, 1996 Gore gives an emotional speech at Democratic National Convention recalling his sister Nancy's death from cancer. He is later criticized for exploiting his sister's death to capitalize on the current anti-tobacco political atmosphere.
November 5, 1996 The Clinton/Gore ticket is easily reelected.
1998 Gore supports President Clinton throughout the Monica Lewinsky scandal and impeachment process.
Nov. 24, 1998 Attorney General Janet Reno announces she will not appoint an independent counsel to investigate Gore's fundraising for reelection campaign.
December 5, 1998 Albert Gore Sr. dies of natural causes at home in Carthage.
June 16, 1999 Speaking from the steps of the courthouse in Carthage, Tennessee--the same place he announced his first campaign for Congress in 1976--Al Gore announces his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination.
September 1999 In an attempt to steady a faltering campaign, Gore moves his campaign headquarters from Washington D.C. to Nashville.
January 24, 2000 Gore wins the Iowa caucus. One week later, he defeats Bill Bradley in the New Hampshire primary, effectively ending the only challenge to his nomination.
August 8, 2000 Gore announces the selection of Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman as his vice-presidential running mate.
August 17, 2000 Al Gore accepts his party's presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles.
November 7, 2000 Al Gore wins the national popular vote and was declared the winner of the election, however, after retraction the race is now too close to call.
December 13, 2000 Al Gore concedes the 2000 election after thirty six days of legal wrangling.
Spring 2000 Al Gore accepts visiting professorships at several colleges around the nation.
Summer 2001 Al Gore campaigns throughout the country for dozens of political candidates.
Fall 2001 Al Gore re-emerges to the political scene with a beard.
September 23, 2002 Al Gore challenges the Bush administration's policy towards Iraq.
October 2, 2002 Al Gore speaks at the Brookings Institute and blasts the Bush administration's economic policy.
November 2002 Al Gore and wife Tipper travel the nation promoting their new books while Al is deciding on whether to run for President in 2004.
December 16, 2002 Al Gore, just one day after hosting Saturday Night Live, tells the nation on 60 Minutes that he will not seek the Presidency in 2004.
Spring 2003 Al Gore accepts a chair on the Apple Board of Directors.
August 7, 2003 Al Gore lashes out at the US Invasion of Iraq.
November 9, 2003 Al Gore slams the Bush administration on their abuse of civil liberties.
December 9, 2003 Al Gore endorses Vermont Governor Howard Dean for President.
January 15, 2004 Al Gore speaks out on global warming and the future of the environment.
February 5, 2004 Al Gore bashes Bush on his use of fear and politics.
May 4, 2004 Al Gore purchases cable news channel NewsWorld International from Vivendi Universal.
May 26, 2004 Al Gore gives a fiery speech condemning the horrible acts at Abu Ghraib prison.
June 24, 2004 Al Gore speaks on the future of democracy in America.
July 26, 2004 Al Gore is the opening night speaker at the 2004 Democratic Convention.
October 18, 2004 Al Gore, in his final speech before the 2004 elections, says the Bush team is not in touch with reality.
October-November 2004 Al Gore travels to a handful of battle ground states to campaign on behalf of John Kerry.
November 8, 2004 Al Gore becomes chairman of a new environmental investment firm.
December 15, 2004 Pauline LaFon Gore passes away of natural causes in Carthage at the age of 92.
April 4, 2005 Al Gore announces the launching of his new cable station: Current.
April 27, 2005 Al Gore slams the GOP's effort to end Senate filibusters and condemns religious zealots around the nation.
