Janet Yellen Fast Facts

Here's a look at the life of Janet Yellen, the first female Federal Reserve chair.

Personal: Birth date: August 13, 1946

Birth place: Brooklyn, New York

Birth name: Janet Louise Yellen

Marriage: George Akerlof (1978-present)

Children: Robert

Education: Brown University, B.A. in Economics, 1967; Yale University, Ph.D. in Economics, 1971

Other Facts: Met her husband while they were both working at the Federal Reserve in 1977.

Her expertise is in macroeconomics and the mechanisms of unemployment.

Timeline: 1971-1976 - Assistant professor at Harvard University.

1977-1978 - Serves on the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors as an economist.

1978-1980 - Lecturer at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

1980 - Becomes a faculty member at the University of California at Berkeley.

1994-1997 - Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

1997-1999 - Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, appointed by President Bill Clinton.

1997-1999 - Chair of the Economic Policy Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

June 2001 - "The Fabulous Decade: Macroeconomic Lessons from the 1990s," a book co-written by Yellen and Alan S. Blinder, is published.

June 14, 2004 - Becomes president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Serves until 2010.

2007 - Throughout the year, Yellen gives numerous warnings regarding the housing market. The housing market crashes late in the year.

October 4, 2010 - Begins a four-year term as the vice chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, as well as a 14-year term as a board member.

September 8, 2013 - Heidi Hartmann, president of the Institute for Women's Policy Research, circulates a letter to President Obama requesting Yellen be nominated to serve as chair of the Federal Reserve. Within three days, the petition receives signatures from more than 300 economists.

October 9, 2013 - President Obama nominates Yellen to be the next chair of the Federal Reserve.

November 21, 2013 - The Senate Banking Committee votes 14-8 to send Yellen's nomination on for consideration before the full Senate.

January 6, 2014 - The Senate votes 56-26 to confirm Yellen as chair of the Federal Reserve.

February 3, 2014 - Is sworn in as chair of the Federal Reserve. She is the first female head in the central bank's 100-year history.

December 16, 2015 - Yellen holds a press conference to discuss the Fed's interest rate hike, a move that "marks the end of an extraordinary period" of low rates to boost economic growth in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. The Dow jumps 224 points, reflecting confidence in the economy.