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For other uses, see Jimmy Carter (disambiguation).
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Jimmy Carter
Portrait of Jimmy Carter in a dark blue suit
Official portrait, 1978
39th President of the United States
In office
January 20, 1977 – January 20, 1981
Vice President Walter Mondale
Preceded by Gerald Ford
Succeeded by Ronald Reagan
76th Governor of Georgia
In office
January 12, 1971 – January 14, 1975
Lieutenant Lester Maddox
Preceded by Lester Maddox
Succeeded by George Busbee
Member of the Georgia State Senate
from the 14th district
In office
January 14, 1963 – January 9, 1967
Preceded by Constituency established
Succeeded by Hugh Carter
Personal details
Born
James Earl Carter Jr.

(1924-10-01)October 1, 1924
Plains, Georgia, U.S.
Died December 29, 2024(2024-12-29) (aged 100)
Plains, Georgia, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1946; died 2023)​
Children 4, including Jack and Amy
Parents
Relatives Carter family
Education United States Naval Academy (BS)
Civilian awards Full list
Signature Cursive signature in ink
Military service
Branch/service United States Navy
Years of service
  • 1946–1953 (active)
  • 1953–1961 (reserve)
Rank Lieutenant
Battles/wars World War II
Military awards

James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924 – December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981.

Historians and polls have assigned mixed ratings to Carter's presidency, but his post-presidency period (the longest in U.S. history) has received near-universal praise, including a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

Early life

Carter was born on October 1, 1924, in Plains, Georgia. He was the oldest son of Bessie Lillian (née Gordy) and James Earl Carter Sr. The family moved a lot when Carter was an infant.

United States Navy Presidents (cropped)
Carter while in the United States Navy

Carter attended the Plains High School from 1937 to 1941. He also joined the Future Farmers of America and developed a lifelong interest in woodworking.

After high school, Carter went to Georgia Southwestern College, in Americus, Georgia. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1946.

Naval career

Graduation of Jimmy Carter from U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, Rosalynn Carter and Lillian Carter Pinning on Ensign Bars - DPLA - e1b1f2b5b4e38fc82cfe091678fc112a
Carter with Rosalynn Smith and his mother at his graduation from the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, June 5, 1946

After graduating from Annapolis, Jimmy Carter served in the U.S. Navy. He was a nuclear submarine officer, and although he never saw combat during the war, his service instilled in him a strong sense of duty and discipline.

On December 12, 1952, an accident with the experimental NRX reactor at Atomic Energy of Canada's Chalk River Laboratories resulted in millions of liters of radioactive water flooding the reactor building's basement. This left the reactor's core ruined. Carter was ordered to Chalk River to lead a U.S. maintenance crew that joined other American and Canadian service personnel to assist in the shutdown of the reactor. The painstaking process required each team member to don protective gear and be lowered individually into the reactor for 90 seconds at a time, limiting their exposure to radioactivity while they disassembled the crippled reactor. When Carter was lowered in, his job was simply to turn a single screw. During and after his presidency, Carter said that his experience at Chalk River had shaped his views on atomic energy and led him to cease development of a neutron bomb.

Carter served in the U.S. Navy for seven years. When his father died in July 1953, Carter decided to return to Plains to take over the family's peanut farm. He left active duty on October 9, 1953.

His awards include the American Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, China Service Medal, and National Defense Service Medal. As a submarine officer he also earned the "dolphin" badge.

Farming

Being an agri-businessman proved to be difficult but Carter was determined to expand the family's peanut-growing business. When his first-year harvest failed due to a drought, Carter had to open several bank lines of credit to keep the farm afloat. Meanwhile, he took classes and studied agriculture while his wife Rosalynn learned accounting to manage the business's books. Though they barely broke even the first year, the Carters grew the business and became quite successful.

Early political career (1963–1971)

Jimmy Carter official portrait as Governor
Carter's official portrait as Governor of Georgia; dated 1971
Jimmy Carter and wife with Reubin Askew and his wife
Carter greeting Florida governor Reubin Askew and his wife in 1971; as president, Carter would appoint Askew as U.S. trade representative

Carter's political career began in the Georgia State Senate. He served there from 1963 to 1967. Then, he became the Governor of Georgia, from 1971 to 1975. During his time as governor, he focused on improving education and environmental protection. He tackled many important issues like improving the state's education system and protecting its natural resources.

Civil rights were a high priority for Carter. He added black state employees and portraits of three prominent black Georgians to the capitol building: Martin Luther King Jr., Lucy Craft Laney, and Henry McNeal Turner. He also favored a constitutional amendment to ban busing, and co-sponsored an anti-busing resolution at the 1971 National Governors Conference.

Presidency (1977–1981)

Main article: Presidency of Jimmy Carter
President Carter National Portrait Gallery
Image of President Carter displayed in the National Portrait Gallery, Washington DC. Portrait by Robert Templeton.

As a dark-horse candidate not well known outside of Georgia, Carter won the Democratic nomination and narrowly defeated incumbent Republican president Gerald Ford in the 1976 U.S. presidential election.

Carter was inaugurated as the 39th president on January 20, 1977. He pardoned all Vietnam War draft evaders on his second day in office. He created a national energy policy that included conservation, price control, and new technology. Carter successfully pursued the Camp David Accords, the Panama Canal Treaties, and the second round of Strategic Arms Limitation Talks. He also confronted stagflation. His administration established the U.S. Department of Energy and the Department of Education. The end of his presidency was marked by the 1979–1981 Iran hostage crisis, the 1979 energy crisis, the Three Mile Island accident, the Nicaraguan Revolution, and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. In response to the invasion, Carter escalated the Cold War by ending détente, imposing a grain embargo against the Soviets, enunciating the Carter Doctrine, and leading the multinational boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. He lost the 1980 presidential election in a landslide to Republican nominee Ronald Reagan.

Post-presidency (1981–2024)

The Elders (9358747992)
Carter (second from right) with Martti Ahtisaari, William Hague, and Lakhdar Brahimi from The Elders group in London, July 24, 2013.

After leaving the presidency, Carter established the Carter Center to promote and expand human rights, earning him a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. He traveled extensively to conduct peace negotiations, monitor elections, and further the eradication of infectious diseases. Carter was a key figure in the nonprofit housing organization Habitat for Humanity and wrote numerous books, ranging from political memoirs to poetry.

Personal life

Farah Pahlavi and Rosalynn Carter (cropped and retouched)
Farah Pahlavi, Empress of Iran, holds Jimmy Carter IV while Rosalynn Carter, Caron Carter and Chip Carter watch, January 1978.

Carter married Rosalynn Smith in 1946. They had three sons, Jack, James III, and Donnel; one daughter, Amy; nine grandsons (one of whom is deceased), three granddaughters, five great-grandsons, and eight great-granddaughters.

On October 19, 2019, Carter and Rosaline became the longest-wed presidential couple, having overtaken George and Barbara Bush at 26,765 days.

Carter's hobbies included painting, fly fishing, woodworking, cycling, tennis, and skiing. He also had an interest in poetry.

Carter was a personal friend of Elvis Presley.

Death

Carter entered hospice care several months before celebrating his 99th birthday. He said in a 2019 interview with People that he never expected to live as long as he had and that the best explanation for longevity was a good marriage.

Carter died at his home in Plains, Georgia, on December 29, 2024, at the age of 100.

Interesting facts about Jimmy Carter

  • Jimmy Carter was the only U.S. president to have been a licensed nuclear engineer.
  • He was the longest-lived U.S. president and the only one to reach 100 years of age
  • Carter was a skilled painter and painted hundreds of pictures, many of which depict scenes from his life and travels.
  • He and his wife Rosalynn were married for over 75 years, a testament to their enduring love.
  • He was known for his Sunday school teaching, a tradition he continued even after leaving the White House.

Jimmy Carter quotes

  • "To be true to ourselves, we must be true to others."
  • "Wherever life takes us, there are always moments of wonder."
  • "We should live our lives as though Christ were coming this afternoon."
  • "We have to inspire our children and grandchildren to take on challenges and risks that at first may seem to be overwhelming, or even impossible. They need to understand that the only failure is not trying."
  • "America did not invent human rights. In a very real sense… human rights invented America."
  • "You only have to have two loves in your life: for God, and for the person in front of you at any particular time."
  • "Earlier in my life, I thought the things that mattered were the things that you could see, like your car, your house, your wealth, your property, your office. But as I’ve grown older I’ve become convinced that the things that matter most are the things that you can’t see—the love you share with others, your inner purpose, your comfort with who you are."
  • "We must adjust to changing times and still hold to unchanging principles."
  • "We are of course a nation of differences. Those differences don't make us weak. They're the source of our strength."

Timeline

  • 1924: Born in Plains, Georgia.
  • 1946: Graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy.
  • 1953: Left the Navy and returned to Plains.
  • 1963-1967: Served in the Georgia State Senate.
  • 1971-1975: Served as Governor of Georgia.
  • 1976: Elected President of the United States.
  • 1977-1981: Served as President of the United States.
  • 1982: Established The Carter Center.
  • 2002: Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his decades of work promoting peace and human rights.
  • 2024: Died in Plains, Georgia, on December 29, 2024, at the age of 100.

Legacy

Although Carter's presidency was unpopular, his peace and humanitarian works since he left office made Carter one of the most popular former presidents in American history.

On February 21, 2024, the White House Historical Association unveiled its official 2024 White House Christmas ornament honoring Carter's naval service and efforts for peace. This was the first time a president being honored was alive at the time of the unveiling.

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Jimmy Carter para niños

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