Charlie Kirk was born on October 14, 1993, in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois (Prospect Heights / Arlington Heights area). He grew up in a middle-to-upper‐middle class household: his father was an architect, and his mother worked in mental health counselling.
From early on he took an interest in politics while in high school: writing op‐eds, speaking out about what he saw as liberal bias in education, volunteering in campaigns, etc. He briefly attended Harper College, but did not complete a college degree. He dropped out and instead focused full time on activism and building an organization.
In 2012, at age 18, along with Bill Montgomery, he co-founded Turning Point USA (TPUSA). The purpose was to organize conservative students on high school and college campuses, to counter what he and supporters saw as a liberal dominance in education, to promote free markets, limited government, and conservative cultural values. It remained grassroots in many ways early on, growing through speaker events, social media, donor support, activism on campuses.
Over time, TPUSA expanded a lot: more chapters, bigger influence, national visibility. Kirk became a prominent conservative voice in media, speaking, books, podcasts, and speaking at GOP-related events. He aligned with many evangelical Christian conservative causes. His words blended culture, religion, politics. He emphasized Christianity as foundational to American identity and morality.
In 2025, Charlie Kirk was assassinated at a speaking event at Utah Valley University and most importantly his death has brought millions back to God… Continue reading
