Early Life, Family and Interests
Snow was born in Berea, Kentucky, and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. His father, Jim, taught social studies, was a school guidance counselor, and an assistant principal at Princeton High School in Sharonville, Ohio (a suburb of Cincinnati) from which his son graduated. His mother was an inner-city nurse who died of colon cancer in 1973 when Snow was 17 years old. Snow developed an early interest in journalism, public policy, and politics that resulted in his selection as editor of the high school newspaper.
Snow originally registered to vote as a Democrat in Ohio. After graduating from Princeton High School, Snow obtained his Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from Davidson College in 1977. Snow was passionate about science and taught physics to high school students. He also attended graduate programs in philosophy and economics at the University of Chicago.
Snow was an avid musician. He played the trombone, flute, piccolo, saxophone and guitar, and belonged to a cover band, Beats Workin', which featured fellow Washington-area professionals. Beats Workin' played publicly with a number of rock bands, including Snow's friends Skunk Baxter (The Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan) and Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull. He was featured on an episode of VH1 Classic's Rock 'n Roll Fantasy Camp.
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