Former President Jimmy Carter has died at the age of 100

PLAINS, Ga. (WTVM) – Former United States President Jimmy Carter died on Sunday at the age of 100.

The news was reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m.

James Earl Carter, Jr. – 39th President of the United States – was born on October 1, 1924 in Plains, Georgia.

Carter has many titles to his credit, as he was the oldest living president and also the oldest – post-presidency. His 77-year marriage to Rosalynn made him the longest-married president.

Carter attended Georgia Southwestern College and the Georgia Institute of Technology and received a BS degree from the United States Naval Academy in 1946.

In the Navy, he became a submariner, serving in both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets, rising to the rank of lieutenant. He also served as the senior officer of the pre-commissioning team Sea Wolfthe second nuclear submarine.

When Carter’s father died in 1953, he resigned from the Navy and returned to Georgia with his family. He took over the Carter Farms and, with Rosalynn, ran Carter’s Warehouse – an all-purpose seed and agricultural supply company in Plains. He quickly became a community leader and served on the county board, which was responsible for overseeing education, the hospital board and the library.

In 1962 he won election to the Georgia Senate. He lost his first gubernatorial campaign in 1966, but won the next election and became Georgia’s 76th governor on January 12, 1971.

On December 12, 1974, he announced his candidacy for President of the United States. He won his party’s nomination on the first ballot at the 1976 Democratic National Convention and was elected president on November 2, 1976 – he was president from January 20, 1977 to January 20, 1981.

Among his administration’s major foreign policy achievements was the establishment of peace in the Middle East through the 1978 Camp David Accords, which ended 29 years of war between Egypt and Israel. He also broke off relations with Taiwan and resumed diplomatic relations between the United States and China.

The administration’s successes included a comprehensive energy program implemented by a new Department of Energy; Energy deregulation, major education programs under a new Department of Education, and important environmental legislation, including the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act.

In 1982 he became University Distinguished Professor at Emory University in Atlanta and founded the Carter Center. Under the active leadership of President Carter, the nonpartisan, nonprofit center addresses national and international public policy issues.

The Carter Presidential Center’s permanent facilities were dedicated in October 1986 and include the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum, managed by the National Archives.

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter also spent their post-White House lives volunteering for Habitat for Humanity one week a year.

He was also known for teaching Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains for several years.

On December 10, 2002, Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He is also the author of 32 books. His last book was published in 2018.

On May 30, 2023, the Carter Center announced that Rosalynn Carter had been diagnosed with dementia. The Carter Center said she continued to live at home with her husband – who was also in hospice care as of February 2023.

On October 1, 2023, News Leader 9 met with friends of Jimmy to discuss his legacy in Plains on what would have been his 99th birthday.