John Hickenlooper Fast Facts
CNN Editorial Research
Here is a look at the life of John Hickenlooper, former governor of Colorado and former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate.
Personal
Birth date: February 7, 1952
Birth place: Narberth, Pennsylvania
Birth name: John Wright Hickenlooper Jr.
Father: John Hickenlooper Sr., a steel mill executive
Mother: Anne (Morris) MacDonald
Marriages: Robin Pringle (2016-present); Helen Thorpe (divorced)
Children: with Robin Pringle: Jack (December 8, 2022); with Helen Thorpe: Teddy
Education: Wesleyan University, B.A., English, 1974; Wesleyan University, M.A., Geology, 1980
Religion: Quaker
Other Facts
He suffers from prosopagnosia, or face blindness, a medical condition that makes it difficult to remember or recognize faces.
Is the first geologist to become a governor.
He plays a fictional senator in “Casino Jack,” a movie by his cousin George Hickenlooper, a filmmaker who died in 2010.
Hickenlooper struggled in school due to dyslexia.
Timeline
1981-1986 – Works as an exploration geologist for Buckhorn Petroleum.
1988 – Opens the Wynkoop Brewing Company, Colorado’s first brewpub.
2003-2011 – Serves as mayor of Denver.
August 24, 2007 – Hickenlooper sells his stake in Wynkoop Brewing and its associated restaurants to his business managers and employees.
January 11, 2011-January 8, 2019 – Serves as governor of Colorado.
December 4, 2012 – Is appointed vice chair of the Democratic Governors Association.
March 20, 2013 – Signs three gun-control measures into law, including one that will require universal background checks for gun sales.
March 17, 2016 – Launches Skillful, an online service to help people without degrees find skill-based jobs, alongside LinkedIn co‐founder Allen Blue and Zoe Baird, CEO of the Markle Foundation.
March 4, 2019 – In a video titled “Standing Tall,” Hickenlooper announces he is running for president in 2020.
August 15, 2019 – Ends his bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.
August 22, 2019 – Announces his Senate candidacy.
June 5, 2020 – Colorado’s Independent Ethics Commission rules that Hickenlooper twice violated ethics laws in 2018. The complaint by a conservative group claims that Hickenlooper violated the state’s gift ban while he was governor. Hickenlooper is later fined almost $3,000 and is not expected to appeal the ruling.
November 3, 2020 – Hickenlooper is elected to the US Senate from Colorado, defeating Republican incumbent Cory Gardner.
August 19, 2021 – In a statement, Hickenlooper announces that he has tested positive for a breakthrough case of Covid-19 after experiencing mild symptoms.
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