Barack Obama went down in history on Jan. 20, 2009, as millions of people around the world paused to watch him be sworn in as the first African-American to serve as the president of the United States.

Obama is also the first president born outside of the continental United States. He was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, to a black father and a white mother.

Of his early childhood, Obama has recalled, "My father looked nothing like the people around me -- he was black as pitch; my mother was white as milk -- it barely registered in my mind."

Obama went on to college and held a number of jobs that helped organize communities and provide job training.

He went on to Harvard Law School, becoming the first black president of the Harvard Law Review, but politics was where those experiences and knowledge paid off.

Obama quickly rose from the Illinois state Senate to the U.S. Senate, and after becoming the fifth African-American senator in U.S. history, he announced his intention to run for president.

The campaign for president was a fierce one, and often ran through Florida. Obama had 44 campaign stops across the state, and raised over $2.5 million from Florida voters.

Now, we will watch with the world to see what else history will say about President Barack Obama.

"Today, I say to you that the challenges we face are real," Obama said on his inauguration day. "They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time, but know this, America: They will be met," Obama said.

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