1. He was the first African-American president

Over the years, the United States has had literally dozens of presidents, but, prior to Barack Obama, all had been Caucasian. None of them was Latin American or African American – until Barack Obama, that is. When he took the oath of office, he made history as the first black president, and to date, he is still the only one.

2. He’s no longer the President

The United States is not a monarchy, and every president has a finite term in office. Some people have been president for just a year or less. Some have been president for more than one term. But while there were presidents who died in office, it’s because they died in office — not because they were given the job and were allowed to keep it until they died. Eventually, it was Obama’s turn to step down, and he has not held the post of president in several years.

3. His wife’s name is Michelle

Like many presidents, Barack Obama has a family who lived with him in the White House while he was president. His wife, or “First Lady” was Michelle Obama, and she was the first African American first lady.

4. He has two daughters

The children of presidents can have varying degrees of fame. In Obama’s case, his children were somewhat well-known because they were young and lived with him in the White House. His two daughters are Sasha and Malia. Like their dad and mom, they moved out of the White House when his term as president expired.

5. He’s not Irish.

Although many Irish surnames begin with the letter O, not all surnames that begin with O are Irish. Obama is not unique — the surnames Oliver, Ottavino and Ohtani are all other examples of this phenomenon.