SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) – Former U.S. president and Georgia legislator Jimmy Carter has died at the age of 100.
Carter died Sunday afternoon at his home in Plains, Georgia, surrounded by his family, according to The Carter Center.
Carter had been in hospice care at home since February 2023 following a series of short hospital stays.
He celebrated his 100th birthday on Oct. 1, 2024, the first time an American president has lived a full century.
Carter's wife, former first lady Rosalynn Carter, died on Nov. 19, 2023, at the age of 96.
Health journey
Carter, who served as the 39th president of the United States, has suffered health problems in recent years.
He was diagnosed with brain cancer in August 2015 but announced just months later he no longer needed treatment.
In 2019, Carter fell at his home in Plains, while leaving to go turkey hunting. A spokesperson said he underwent surgery at a medical center in Americus, Georgia, and recovered quickly.
Plains embraces Jimmy Carter’s humble beginnings
Later that year, he underwent surgery to relieve pressure on his brain from bleeding linked to a fall. The month prior, he fell twice, once hitting his head and another fracturing his pelvis.
In December 2019, Carter was admitted to a hospital in Americus for treatment of a urinary tract infection.
FILE - Former President Jimmy Carter smiles as he is awarded the Order of Manuel Amador Guerrero by Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela during a ceremony at the Carter Center, Jan. 14, 2016, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)
Carter leaves behind a great legacy as the only Georgian to be president of the United States.
He was in office from 1977 to 1981 — but his service began early in life.
Path to the Oval Office
After receiving a degree from the United States Naval Academy and working in the nuclear submarine program, Carter and his wife Rosalynn returned home to take over the family farm.
It is community involvement that led him to the Georgia Senate, the governor's office and, ultimately, the Oval Office.
His campaign for president has a Savannah connection, but as Georgia Historical Society senior historian Dr. Stan Deaton says, his visit to a Hostess City staple is not quite as significant as many think.
- Jimmy Carter at The Original Pinkie Master's, a staple Savannah dive bar. (Savannah Morning News)
- Jimmy Carter memorabilia displayed at Pinkie Master's (Savannah Morning News)
“The legend was, of course, that he announced his candidacy for the presidency from Pinkie Master's — that turned out not to be true,” Deaton explained. “It’s well documented that he announced it somewhere else, but he did come to Pinkie Master's on several notable occasions when he came here.”
Deaton said Carter overcame incredible odds, leading an underdog campaign to become the 39th president. He said Carter was considered an outsider who came a “long, long way from nowhere.”
“If I were running for office, I would study and figure out exactly what he was able to do,” Deaton said, adding, “Post-Watergate, there was a lot of cynicism about executive power and I think President Carter restored the sense that the office had some integrity, some accountability and some honor.”
'A crisis of confidence'
Carter’s successes in the West Wing include the Camp David Accords — secret meetings that
were the first significant step toward peace in the Middle East — even though it didn’t last.
“Which was a huge coup for him,” Deaton said. “A huge victory in the Middle East and, quite frankly, one that no other president since then has been able to replicate.”
While peace made progress in one part of the Middle East, a revolution in another led to a big challenge for Carter: the energy crisis of 1979. The Iranian Revolution disrupted oil production and led to gas shortages and long lines in the U.S.
Official presidential portrait of Jimmy Carter
The problem inspired a national address where Carter spoke about what he called “a crisis of confidence.” In the half-hour speech, he asked Americans to reduce their usage to refocus on a common purpose instead of self-interest.
“On the battlefield of energy, we can win for our nation a new confidence and we can seize control again of our common destiny,” Carter said in his July 15, 1979 speech.
The lowest point in the Carter years, many believe, ultimately cost him a second term: the Iran hostage crisis.
On Nov. 4, 1979, a group of Iranian students stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and held a group of Americans hostage for more than 400 days. A failed rescue attempt killed several American servicemembers.
Jimmy Carter, trounced in 1980, gets fresh look from history
“There were just several things that imprinted in the popular mind that President Carter was ineffective, that he was weak, that in many ways he was naive about the world and the way it operated,” Deaton said.
But Carter launched several other careers after his stay in the White House, becoming an author, humanitarian and diplomat.
Life after the White House
“He’s kind of the model of what presidents should do when they get out of office,” Deaton said, “Which is still serve in some way.”
He and his wife founded The Carter Center, based in Atlanta, and spent decades helping to bring peace, health and hope to 86 countries all around the world.
It’s a monumental effort that earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. Carter is one of only two native Georgians to do so.
“We can choose to alleviate suffering. We can choose to work together for peace. We can make these changes — and we must,” the president said in his 2002 speech.
A champion of Habitat for Humanity, he and the former first lady spent more than 35 years volunteering for the Americus-founded nonprofit.
After brain surgery, Jimmy Carter returns to hometown church
- Former President Jimmy Carter teaches Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown of Plains. (WSAV)
- Former President Jimmy Carter teaches Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown of Plains. (WSAV)
Carter took a stand for social change often, whether in front of world leaders or his hometown crowd.
“A time when everybody will live in peace with each other; when there will be no more war, and when people will relate to each other as equals,” he said in a Sunday school class. “Is that an impossibility? I would say no…it depends on the collective will of the people on Earth.”