Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has died at the age of 100. Read on for details of his passing.
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has died. He was 100 years old.
He passed away peacefully Dec. 29 at his home in Plains, Georgia, surrounded by family, his charity the Carter Center announced in a statement.
Carter, the oldest living U.S. president of all time, died less than three months after his 100th birthday and more than a year after the Carter Center said he had opted to receive hospice care at home with his family after “a series of short hospital stays.”
The Democratic leader is survived by his four children: John William “Jack” Carter, James E. “Chip” Carter III, Donnel Jeffrey “Jeff” Carter and Amy Carter, plus 11 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. Carter was preceded in death by his wife of more than 75 years, former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, who died in November 2023 at age 96.
“My father was a hero,” Chip said in a statement provided by the Carter Center, “not only to me but to everyone who believes in peace, human rights, and unselfish love.”
He continued, “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.”
Carter, the 39th president, was born in Georgia in 1924. He went on to attend Georgia Southwestern College and the Georgia Institute of Technology, before receiving a degree from the United States Naval Academy in 1946, according to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum.
The same year, he married Rosalynn, and together they operated Carter’s Warehouse, a seed and farm store in Georgia.
Carter’s political career took off in 1962, when he was elected to the Georgia Senate, later becoming governor of the Peach State in 1971.
Five years later, he was elected president of the United States, during which he oversaw several international diplomacy efforts, including the Panama Canal treaties, the Camp David Accords and the SALT II treaty with the Soviet Union.
“We have learned that ‘more’ is not necessarily ‘better,’ that even our great nation has its recognized limits, and that we can neither answer all questions nor solve all problems,” he said in his inauguration speech. “We cannot afford to do everything, nor can we afford to lack boldness as we meet the future. So, together, in a spirit of individual sacrifice for the common good, we must simply do our best.”
Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images
Following his time in the White House, he turned his attention to education. Carter became a professor at Emory University in Atlanta in the 1980s, founding The Carter Center and authoring more than 30 books throughout his life.
The politician has been recognized for his compassion in his career and beyond. After leaving the presidency, he and his wife sought to create a better life for people not just in the U.S., but across the globe, through the Carter Center. This work was recognized in 2002, when the former peanut farmer was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Moreover, Carter is often remembered for his contributions to the start of the clean energy movement. During his presidency, Carter created the Department of Energy and introduced tax incentives for energy-friendly home insulation and for installing solar panels.
As Carter put it in his inauguration speech, “The passion for freedom is on the rise. Tapping this new spirit, there can be no nobler nor more ambitious task for America to undertake on this day of a new beginning than to help shape a just and peaceful world that is truly humane.”
Look back at Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter’s love story…
