As he turns 93 on Sunday, our 39th 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.
He 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.”
On July 7, 1946, he married Rosalyn Smith of Plains. Together, their humaniarianism and good deeds include creating and building The Carter Center.
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 has said,“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 into 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 has become one of the strongest voices in denouncing the violence and suppression against women. In another book, Jimmy Carter writes about possible solutions to bring peace to Israel and Palestine and end the occupation.
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 Sunday school and serves as deacon at the Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains. The church is open to the public.
Some the former president’s hobbies include fly-fishing, woodworking, painting, 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 innocent civilians over the years. While in office, he also created the U.S. Department of Energy and was the first to install solar panels on the White House. President Carter was far ahead of his time when it came to protecting the environment, climate and planet.
Actively guided by Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, the nonpartisan and nonprofit Carter Center has spearheaded the international effort to eradicate the Guinea worm disease, which is poised to be the second human disease in history to be eradicated. When the Carter Center began it’s work to end this devasting disease, there were 3,000,000 cases. Today, there are less than 30.
You 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
It was set up to help pay tribute to the former president and the page continues to grow with over 225,000 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.
Related Stories:
Books Written by Jimmy Carter:
Mr. Carter is the author of twenty-nine books, many of which are now in revised editions: Why Not the Best? 1975, 1996; A Government as Good as Its People, 1977, 1996; Keeping Faith: Memoirs of a President, 1982, 1995; Negotiation: The Alternative to Hostility, 1984, 2003; The Blood of Abraham: Insights into the Middle East, 1985, 1993, 2007; Everything to Gain: Making the Most of the Rest of Your Life, written with Rosalynn Carter, 1987, 1995; An Outdoor Journal: Adventures and Reflections, 1988, 1994; Turning Point: A Candidate, a State, and a Nation Come of Age, 1992; Talking Peace: A Vision for the Next Generation, 1993, 1995; Always a Reckoning, and other Poems, 1995; The Little Baby Snoogle-Fleejer, illustrated by Amy Carter, 1995; Living Faith, 1996; Sources of Strength: Meditations on Scripture for a Living Faith, 1997; The Virtues of Aging, 1998; An Hour before Daylight: Memories of a Rural Boyhood, 2001; Christmas in Plains: Memories, 2001; The Nobel Peace Prize Lecture, 2002; The Hornet's Nest: A Novel of the Revolutionary War, 2003; Sharing Good Times, 2004; Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis, 2005; Palestine Peace Not Apartheid, 2006, 2007; Beyond the White House: Waging Peace, Fighting Disease, Building Hope, 2007; A Remarkable Mother, 2008; We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land: A Plan That Will Work, 2009; White House Diary, 2010; Through the Year with Jimmy Carter: 366 Daily Meditations from the 39th President, 2011; as general editor, NIV Lessons from the Life Bible: Personal Reflections with Jimmy Carter, 2012; A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power, 2014; and A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety, 2015.
Special thanks to The Carter Center and to all those who continue to support, honor and share the truth about President Jimmy Carter.