Happy Birthday Barack Obama: Things to know about him

The current and 44th president of United States Barack Obama turned 54 today. Obama was born in 1961 in Honolulu, and at age of 47 he became president of the United States.

He was the first African American to serve as U.S. president. First elected to the presidency in 2008, he won a second term in 2012.

Here are some facts about Barack Obama

• The name Barack means "one who is blessed" in Swahili.

• His mother told a friend from Hawaii she believed he could be president of the United States.

• He collects Spider-Man and Conan the Barbarian comics.

• He was known as "O'Bomber" at high school for his skill at basketball.

• He won a Grammy in 2006 for the audio version of his memoir, Dreams From My Father.

• In 1988, he went to Harvard Law School, where he became the first black president of the Harvard Law Review.

• He married Michelle Robinson, whom he met at a law firm when he was an intern and she was assigned to be his adviser.

• He worked for two years in corporate research and at the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) in New York City.

• Obama named Time Magazine's "Person of the Year" in 2008.

• He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009.

• Made a surprise visit to Afghanistan, the first as president on March 28, 2010

• He became the first US president to address the UK Parliament on May 25, 2011.

• He is the first US president to endorse same-sex marriage.

• Barack Obama named Time Magazine's "Person of the Year" for the second time in 2012.

• He traveled to his paternal homeland for the first time as President to participate in Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Nairobi, Kenya.