The longest-lived U.S. president in history, Jimmy Carter, has died at the age of 100. Carter, who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981, died Sunday in Plains, Georgia.
Jimmy Carter
Carter was the third-oldest living person to have served as a state leader. He had been receiving hospice care since February 2023. The Carter Center confirmed his death via X.
Sitting President Joe Biden addressed the nation in the hours following Carter’s passing, honoring the friend and fellow politician.
“Today, America and the world lost an extraordinary leader, statesman, and humanitarian,” President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden also said in a statement. Biden described Carter’s life as one of principle, humility, and service, adding, “He saved, lifted, and changed the lives of people all across the globe.”
Politicians mourn Jimmy Carter’s death
“My father was a hero, not only to me but to everyone who believes in peace, human rights, and unselfish love,” said Chip Carter, the former president’s son. “My brothers, sister, and I shared him with the rest of the world through these common beliefs. The world is our family because of the way he brought people together, and we thank you for honoring his memory by continuing to live these shared beliefs.”
Presidential historian and friend of Carter’s, Dr. Larry Cook, remembered Carter as a gracious and caring man guided by his faith and values.
“He’s let it be known that his faith has guided him since he was a child and up through his adult life and through the presidency and beyond,” Cook said. “It’s who he is, his faith is who he is.”
Carter was preceded in death by his wife, Rosalynn Carter, who died Nov. 19, 2023. The former president and first lady had the longest marriage of any first couple in U.S. history and celebrated their 77th wedding anniversary in July 2023.
“They’ve experienced everything that you can together. I think the beautiful thing is that they are still together,” the Carters’ grandson, Josh Carter, told People magazine. “They are still holding hands … it’s just amazing.”
How Jimmy Carter’s marriage to Rosalynn Carter helped shape his legacy
Born Oct. 1, 1924, in Plains, Georgia, James Earl Carter Jr. was the first person on his father’s side of his family to graduate from high school.
He was the only United States Naval Academy graduate to be elected to the White House.
Presidential historian Robert Dallek said Carter will be remembered for his post-presidential work than his time in office.
“He’ll never be seen as a great president. But he will be seen as a great humanitarian,” Dallek said.
A month after Carter graduated, he married Eleanor Rosalynn Carter in 1946.
“She’s the girl I want to marry,” Jimmy Carter told his mother after his first date with Smith, who had grown up as a friend and neighbor of the Carter family in Plains, Georgia.
In July 1953, Carter gave up his military career to save his family’s peanut farm and later became involved in local politics when he served on an education board.
Carter served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1971 to 1975 and as a Georgia state senator from 1963 to 1967.
After Carter’s presidency, in 1982, he founded the Carter Center, which has played an active role in human rights and disease prevention issues globally. The Carters helped publicize Habitat for Humanity as well.
Public observances will be held in Atlanta and Washington, D.C., along with a private internment in Plains, Georgia.
The details of his final arrangements have not been confirmed yet by the Joint Task Force-National Capital Region and the U.S. Army Military District of Washington.