October 20
Kamala Harris Born in Oakland
Summary
Kamala Devi Harris was born on October 20, 1964, in Oakland, California. She graduated from Howard University and the University of California, Hastings College of the Law before beginning a career as a prosecutor. Harris served as San Francisco district attorney from 2004 to 2011 and as California attorney general from 2011 to 2017. She won election to the United States Senate in 2016 and served from 2017 until January 2021. Joe Biden selected Harris as his vice-presidential running mate in 2020, and their victory made her the first woman, first Black American, and first person of South Asian heritage to serve as vice president of the United States. Harris served as the forty-ninth vice president from 2021 to 2025. After Biden ended his 2024 reelection campaign, Harris became the Democratic presidential nominee and lost the general election to Donald Trump. Her public career remains an important part of recent American political history.
Why It Matters
Harris broke several longstanding barriers in American national politics through her election as vice president. Her career also spans local prosecution, statewide law enforcement, the U.S. Senate, the vice presidency, and a major-party presidential nomination. Those roles make her significant to the history of political representation, the Democratic Party, criminal-justice policy, and twenty-first-century presidential politics.
Related Sites
- PolicyClown: A related prediction page concerning Kamala Harris's political activity.
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Sources
- Harris Vice Presidential Records Collection, National Archives and Records Administration. Accessed 2026-08-25.
- Kamala Harris, National Women's History Museum. Accessed 2026-08-25.