Bill and Hillary's Berkeley days

1993: US President Bill Clinton, center, in a picture dated 05 July 1993 in San Francisco and his wife, Hillary, wave to Arkansas delegation at NEA Convention. 1993: US President Bill Clinton, center, in a picture dated 05 July 1993 in San Francisco and his wife, Hillary, wave to Arkansas delegation at NEA Convention. Photo: LUKE FRAZZA/AFP/Getty Images Photo: LUKE FRAZZA/AFP/Getty Images Image 1 of / 32 Caption Close Bill and Hillary's Berkeley days 1 / 32 Back to Gallery

Bill Clinton's lengthy speech on the second night of the Democratic National Convention, is being credited for its attempt to "humanize" his wife and her history, political and otherwise.

The deep dive into who Hillary Clinton is, as seen through Bill's eyes, was a different look at the Democratic presidential nominee. Not only did the former president mention their courtship, but he went back even further, to Hillary's family and background.

One of the glossed-over sections of the couple's history — other than the most obvious one — is a summer the two spent in Berkeley in 1971. Hillary (then Hillary Rodham) and Bill began dating in the spring of that same year, and during the summer break from Yale Law School, they made the drive to the Bay Area. Hillary was set to be a clerk at Treuhaft, Walker and Burnstein, a law firm in Oakland.

Rather than go their separate ways, Bill gave up a chance to work on the presidential campaign for Sen. George McGovern to stay with Hillary at a house on Derby Street.

Hillary's days in Berkeley aren't steeped in activism, as the Daily Cal points out. Instead, portions of both Hillary's and Bill's biographies showcase their burgeoning relationship — and likely the first time the couple formally lived together. The New York Sun called that period the couple's "Berkeley Summer of Love" in a 2007 article.

The time in Berkeley is briefly covered in Hillary's 2003 book, "Living History," and mentions her law firm work in passing. ("I spent most of my time working for Mal Burnstein researching, writing legal motions and briefs for a child custody case.") Most of Hillary's writing on Berkeley focused on more trivial couple stuff, discussing their cooking attempts and trips to "a restaurant in North Beach or a vintage clothing store on Telegraph Avenue" scouted out by Bill. In his biography, "My Life," he also mentioned a Joan Baez concert the couple attended at Stanford.

During that same summer, it was later discovered that Hillary penned a letter to controversial writer Saul Alinsky, who is known for his community organizing (considered extreme, by some measures) and his 1971 book, "Rules for Radicals." Hillary had also written her Wellesley College thesis on Alinsky and his views, and had met with him. The link between Hillary and Alinsky most recently became fodder for a speech by Ben Carson at last week's Republican National Convention, in which he tried to link Hillary to Satan, through an association with Alinsky. (Really.)

The brief notes on Berkeley also included this tale about a supposed brief encounter with a person who apparently thought that 25-year-old Bill would later become president:

People have said that I knew Bill would be President one day and went around telling anyone who would listen. I don't remember thinking that until years later, but I had one strange encounter at a small restaurant in Berkeley. I was supposed to meet Bill, but I was held up at work and arrived late. There was no sign of him, and I asked the waiter if he had seen a man of his description. A customer sitting nearby spoke up, saying, "He was here for a long time reading, and I started talking to him about books. I don't know his name, but he's going to be President someday." "Yeah, right," I said, "but do you know where he went?"

While seemingly not worthy of a mention on Tuesday night, Berkeley played a part in solidifying the Clintons as a couple, although not making as big an impact on the two, politically. The Bay Area has since served as a key political spot for both in the years afterward, however, including hosting fundraisers for Hillary's presidential bid.

Click through the slideshow above to see photos of the Clintons visits to the Bay Area since they first lived in Berkeley.