As he turns 93 on Sunday, our thirty-ninth American president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jimmy Carter continues to advocate for human rights, democracy and fighting disease—through voice and action. Here are some of the highlights of this great and remarkable man’s life (via The Carter Center, co-founded with former First Lady Rosalynn Carter.)
Jimmy Carter (James Earl Carter, Jr.), thirty-ninth president of the United States, was born October 1, 1924, in the small farming town of Plains, Georgia, and grew up in the nearby community of Archery. His father, James Earl Carter, Sr., was a farmer and businessman; his mother, Lillian Gordy Carter, a registered nurse.
Photo Courtesy of The Carter CenterHe was educated in the public school of Plains, attended Georgia Southwestern College and the Georgia Institute of Technology, and received a B.S. degree from the United States Naval Academy in 1946. In the Navy he became a submariner, serving in both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets and rising to the rank of lieutenant. Chosen by Admiral Hyman Rickover for the nuclear submarine program, he was assigned to Schenectady, New York, where he took graduate work at Union College in reactor technology and nuclear physics, and served as senior officer of the pre-commissioning crew of the Seawolf, the second nuclear submarine.
Photo Courtesy of The Jimmy Carter Presidential LibrayOn July 7, 1946, he married Rosalyn Smith of Plains. Together, their humaniarianism and good deeds include creating and building The Carter Center.
Photo Courtesy of Habitat For Humanity {For one week, every year since 1994, the couple flies to a different city around the world to physically build homes with Habitat for Humanity.
The Carters have been married for seven decades and the former president refers to the former first lady as his “greatest influence” and says, “The best thing I ever did was marrying Rosalynn.”
When his father died in 1953, he resigned his naval commission and returned with his family to Georgia. He took over the Carter farms, and he and Rosalynn operated Carter's Warehouse, a general-purpose seed and farm supply company in Plains. He quickly became a leader of the community, serving on county boards supervising education, the hospital authority, 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, becoming Georgia's 76th governor on January 12, 1971. He was the Democratic National Committee campaign chairman for the 1974 congressional and gubernatorial elections.
Jimmy Carter announced his candidacy for president of the United States on December 12, 1974. He won the Democratic nomination and was elected to the Oval Office November 2, 1976. President Carter served from January 20, 1977 to January 20, 1981.
Significant foreign policy accomplishments of his administration included the Panama Canal treaties, the Camp David Accords, the treaty of peace between Egypt and Israel,
the SALT II treaty with the Soviet Union, and the establishment of U.S. diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. He championed human rights throughout the world. On the domestic side, the administration's achievements included a comprehensive energy program conducted by a new Department of Energy; deregulation in energy, transportation, communications, and finance; major educational programs under a new Department of Education; and major environmental protection legislation, including the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act.
Post presidency, Jimmy Carter and The Carter Center have continued to engage in conflict mediation and strive for peace in foreign countries, some of which include Ethiopia and Eritrea (1989), North Korea (1994), Liberia (1994), Haiti (1994), Bosnia (1994), Sudan (1995), the Great Lakes region of Africa (1995-96), Sudan and Uganda (1999), Venezuela (2002-2003), Nepal (2004-2008), Ecuador and Colombia (2008), and the Middle East (2003-present).
Under the leadership of President Carter, The Carter Center has also conducted 100 election-observation missions in countries that include Panama (1989), Nicaragua (1990), China (1997), Nigeria (1998), Indonesia (1999), East Timor (1999), Mexico (2000), Guatemala (2003), Venezuela (2004), Ethiopia (2005), Liberia (2005), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2006), Nepal (2008), Lebanon (2009), Sudan (2010), Tunisia (2011), Egypt (2011-2012), Kenya (2013), Mozambique (2014), and Guyana (2015),
In 2007, President Carter joined The Elders, a group so independent global leaders founded by Nelson Mandela. In 2002 Mr. Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize "for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development."
Jimmy Carter has written 29 books exploring and conveying his experiences and his beleifs.
In one book he advocates for women and had become one of the strong voices in denouncing the violence and suppression of women.
A man of truth and strong Christian faith and values, Jimmy Carter has never tried to push/force his religious beliefs on others. He still teaches at Sunday school at serves as deacon at the Maranatha Baptist Church of Plains. The church is open to the public.
Some the former president’s hobbies include fly-fishing, woodworking and swimming. Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter have four children and 12 grandchildren, one who passed in 2016, and 10 great-grandchildren.
During his time in office, President Carter kept our country out of war and never dropped a bomb or fired a bullet under the American banner. President Carter’s acts of peace worldwide have spared the lives of perhaps millions of innocentcivilians over the years. While in office, he also created the U.S. Department of Energy and was the first to installed solar panels on the White House. He was ahead of his time when it came to protecting the environment, climate and planet.
Actively guided by President Carter, the nonpartisan and nonprofit Carter Center has spearheaded the international effort to eradicate Guinea worm disease, which is poised to be the second human disease in history to be eradicated.
Actively guided by President Carter, the nonpartisan and nonprofit Carter Center has spearheaded the international effort to eradicate Guinea worm disease, which is poised to be the second human disease in history to be eradicated.
Photo Courtesy of The Carter CenterYou can personally write to the Honorable Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter via The Carter Center (they’ve been known to write back). The mailing address is:
The Carter Center One Copenhill 453 Freedom Parkway Atlanta, GA 30307
There’s also a Facebook page called:
Honoring Jimmy Carter (on Facebook)
It was set up to help pay tribute to the former president that continues to grow with over 223,000 followers/members. On the page, you can find stories and memes about President Carter, as well as enjoy one of the safer and most positive places to share your comments and experiences regarding this this remarkable man. To visit/like “Honoring Jimmy Carter” click HERE.
For a life that exemplifies strength, compassion and truth—thank you, Mr. President. You are a national treasure and you will go down in history as one of the greatest peacemakers, humanitarians and human beings this world has ever known.