SSA Aaron Hotchner

Background~

Hotch was born on November 2, 1965. His mother was originally from Manassas, Virginia, and went to Mary Baldwin College. Hotch was a former profiler in the FBI's field office in Seattle, Washington, before transferring to Quantico. Before that, he was a prosecutor after earning his degree of Juris Doctor at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C., in 1992. Hotch stated that his reason for joining the BAU was because he felt that, as a prosecutor, it was too late for him to do anything, but by joining the BAU, he has a chance to stop killers sooner. His struggles to maintain his family life have been an ongoing theme of the show. In the episode "Natural Born Killer", Vincent Perotta questions Hotch as to the meaning of "some people [from extremely abusive and violent households] grow up to become killers." Responding, Hotch says, "And some people grow up to catch them." This hints that Hotch might have been abused as a child, but the subject was never further elaborated on. In the episode "Ashes and Dust", Hotch's father was revealed to have died from lung cancer, though an earlier episode, "The Tribe", states that he died of a heart attack at the age of 47.

Personality

Hotch's personality has changed very little over the course of the show. He has always been extremely serious, determined, and focused on his leadership of the team, never seeming to waver or lose sight of the task ahead, barely allowing his dry wit and humor to appear. However, the events surrounding George Foyet's final appearance did cause him to become temporarily single-minded and obsessive to the point where he would appoint Morgan as Unit Chief for a short period of time. He was especially grim and didn't smile at all during this time.

Outside of work, especially while interacting with his loved ones, his seriousness abates and the more carefree, good-natured, and good-humored side of his personality shows up, transforming his countenance to a point that people who know him little get a hefty surprise.

NOTES:: His sidearm is a Glock 17, with a 26 backup on a hidden ankle holster.

Hotch met his wife, Haley, at a theater group, which he joined in order to get close to her ("The Fisher King, Part 1").

He is left-handed, a trait that he shares with Penelope Garcia. Despite this, however, he carries his sidearm and backup with his right hand.

He used to collect old coins in his youth ("Won't Get Fooled Again").

He was once part of a SWAT team ("L.D.S.K.").

He became a lawyer, following in his father's footsteps ("The Tribe").

He teaches crisis negotiation and co-wrote the textbook for it ("Children of the Dark").

His first case as the lead profiler in the BAU was that of the Boston Reaper in 1998 ("Omnivore").

His favorite thing to listen to is the Beatles' White Album, once stating, "Just because Manson hijacked it doesn't mean it has to be ruined for the rest of us." ("The Performer")

The character was named after A. E. Hotchner, an American novelist, biographer, and editor who, like Hotch, also went to law school.

The surname of Hotchner is of Old Dutch or Low German in origin; its meaning translates to "fair judge" or "objective one".

He has coached Jack's soccer team, with assistance from Rossi ("Out of the Light").

He appears to have intimate knowledge of several biblical texts ("The Caller", "Blood Relations", "Angels").

He has killed three unsubs with his bare hands (George Foyet in "100", James Heathridge in "Heathridge Manor", and Owen McGregor in "Demons").

His blood type is O negative ("Route 66").

He has demonstrated skill with a sniper rifle, having been able to shoot an unsub in the head before he could kill his target victim ("Final Shot").

He has a brother who he is estranged from, named Sean ("The Tribe" and "Brothers Hotchner"). It was revealed that they interacted very little as children, since he went to boarding school when Sean was entering first grade.

He carpooled with JJ ("The Storm").

He has appeared in 256 episodes, with "Sick Day" being his last. This marks the most amount of episodes a former main character has been in. His mother apparently made him oatmeal and orange juice ("The Company").