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“ONE OF THE THINGS JESUS TAUGHT WAS: IF YOU HAVE ANY TALENTS, TRY TO UTILIZE THEM FOR THE BENEFIT OF OTHERS. THAT’S WHAT ROSA AND I HAVE BOTH TRIED TO DO”—JIMMY CARTER, TO PEOPLE, 2019 Throughout his extraordinary life, Jimmy Carter, a President, peace broker and Nobel laureate, demonstrated the power of joy. He found it in his strong faith, in his philanthropic work—and in dancing with Rosalynn, his wife of 77 years…
HE WAS NEARING his hundredth year of life with his mind sharp and his hands and spirit as eager as ever to help. Some snapshots: Here is Jimmy Carter in 2015, at age 91, monitoring elections in Guyana. And here, at 95, is Carter engaging a hefty power drill at a Habitat for Humanity construction site. In September 2023, a week before his 99th birthday, he and wife Rosalynn rode together at the Plains, Ga., Peanut Festival. Frequently asked the secret to his stamina, Carter might divulge details of his exercise regimen—he ran until age 80, then took up swimming, which was easier on his knees—but more often gave this advice: “Marry the best spouse.” The couple were each other’s support until Nov. 19, 2023, when his beloved wife…
“I SAW THE POSSIBILITY WHILE I WAS PRESIDENT OF EMPHASIZING HUMAN RIGHTS”—JIMMY CARTER, TO THE COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS, 2012 “ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HAS HELD AMERICA TOGETHER, WHEN WE’VE BEEN TOGETHER, HAS BEEN THE MUSIC THAT WE SHARE AND LOVE”—CARTER, IN THE DOCUMENTARY ROCK & ROLL PRESIDENT…
EIGHT-AND-A-HALF-POUND James Earl “Jimmy” Carter Jr. came into the world on Oct. 1, 1924, at Wise Sanitarium in rural Plains, Ga., an event that, while unremarkable at the time, would make him the first U.S. President to be born in a hospital. His father, James Sr., known as Earl, was an industrious peanut farmer and store owner; Carter’s mother, the former Bessie Lillian Gordy, was a registered nurse who flouted southern racial mores of the era and offered health care counseling to Black women. Later known to America as the quotable “Miss Lillian,” in 1977 she recalled Earl’s ecstatic reaction to Jimmy’s birth: “He was oohing and aahing so much you’d have thought the baby was Jesus Christ. I knew he wasn’t, of course, because I knew I wasn’t a…
On Dec. 12, 1974, Jimmy Carter announced he would run for the Presidency. People caught up with the candidate in the fall of 1975, well before he became the Democratic nominee. This archival story appears here as it originally did in the magazine. IT WAS MIDNIGHT as the white DC-3 lifted off the runway in Orlando and headed north to Americus, Ga. Secret Service agents sat shivering in the unheated cabin while the stewardess huddled under a blanket. Only the presidential candidate, poring over editorials about himself, seemed oblivious to either cold or fatigue. Jimmy Carter was going home. For Carter, Georgia’s former governor and once the Mr. Midnight of political dark horses, it was a week to justify his brimming self-confidence. Amid reports of growing organizational strength in Iowa,…
ADIXIELAND BAND played and green-and-white “Jimmy Carter for President” balloons floated above as Carter entered the Atlanta Civic Center on Dec. 12, 1974. There he was greeted by supporters munching on peanuts, small sandwiches and enjoying alcohol-free punch. With his wife, Rosalynn, mother Lillian and children at his side, Carter made his way to the podium. One guest yelled out, “Give ’em hell, Governor.” A smiling Carter then threw his hat in the ring, telling the crowd, “I intend to be your next President.” A staff member afterward came up to him and said, “We’re going to win, Governor,” to which Carter said, “I know.” It proved to be a low-key political launch, and few took his quest seriously. Carter possessed minimal name recognition, with the term “dark horse candidate”…
