Dorothy Rodham, Hillary Clinton's mother, dies at 92

Dorothy Rodham, the mother of the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, died yesterday, aged 92, in Washington. Mrs Clinton cancelled a planned trip to London and Istanbul to be at her mother's side.

Mrs Rodham rarely gave interviews about herself or her daughter and son-in-law, the former president Bill Clinton. A notable exception was helping her daughter's 2008 bid for the Democratic nomination for president by campaigning on women's issues. Mrs Clinton cited her mother in at least one advert during the campaign, saying that her mother had taught her to stand up for herself and to stand up for those who needed help.

As Mrs Clinton battled Barack Obama for the nomination in April 2008, Mrs Rodham joined her daughter and granddaughter at a campaign event at Haverford College. Then 88, Mrs Rodham did not speak at the event, but Mrs Clinton noted that her mother lived with her and "always has a lot of great ideas about what we need to be doing," drawing chuckles from the audience.

Dorothy Howell Rodham was born in Chicago in 1919, the daughter of a city firefighter. She met Hugh E. Rodham, who had found work in Chicago as a travelling salesman. They married in 1942, and, besides their daughter, raised two sons, Hugh and Tony. Mr Rodham died in 1993.

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