Charles T. Payne

Charles Thomas Payne was born on February 16, 1925. He served as an American librarian and soldier. Payne was a member of the Obama family; he was the brother of Madelyn Payne Dunham and the granduncle of Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States.

During World War II, Payne served in the United States Army as part of the 89th Infantry Division. He participated in the liberation of Ohrdruf, a sub-camp of the Buchenwald concentration camp. His military service was noted in speeches by Barack Obama, including a speech in 2009 commemorating the anniversary of D-Day. During the 2008 presidential election, media briefly reported on a mistaken identification made by Obama, who initially stated that he helped liberate Auschwitz instead of Ohrdruf. In 2009, Payne provided a description of his experience at Ohrdruf, noting that upon arrival, there were no German soldiers present, and the area was overrun by camp inmates in poor condition, many suffering from starvation.

Following the war, Payne earned a degree in chemical engineering from Kansas State University. He worked professionally as an engineer before pursuing further studies at the University of Chicago's Graduate Library School. At the University of Chicago, Payne shared a dormitory with Lien Chan, who later became the Vice President and Premier of Taiwan. Payne joined the staff of the University of Chicago Library in 1964. He served as the assistant director of the library from 1975 until 1992.

Meanwhile, Barack Obama taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004. Payne attended the 2008 Democratic National Convention, where his grandnephew was nominated as the Democratic candidate for President of the United States.

Charles Payne died on August 1, 2014, at the age of 89.