Jimmy Carter, The 39th President Of The United States, Dead At 100
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter Jr., the 39th president of the United States, died Sunday, according to The Washington Post. He was 100.
"Today, America and the world lost an extraordinary leader, statesman and humanitarian," President Biden said in a statement. "Over six decades, we had the honor of calling Jimmy Carter a dear friend. But, what's extraordinary about Jimmy Carter, is that millions of people throughout America and the world who never met him thought of him as a dear friend as well."
Carter's passing comes nearly two years after the former POTUS entered home hospice care in his hometown of Plains, Ga., a decision made in February 2023 after Carter was admitted to the hospital for several short stays. At the age of 100, Carter was America's longest-lived president and the first to become a centenarian. His wife, former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, passed away in November 2023 at 96 years old.
In 2015, in the span of a year, Carter revealed that he had been diagnosed with cancer that had spread to his brain and liver — and that he had managed to beat it. But in November 2019, he recalled that he had been at peace with his initial prognosis. Per CNN, he told Plains churchgoers that "it didn't really matter to me whether I died or lived... except I was going to miss my family, and miss the work at the Carter Center and miss teaching your Sunday-school service sometimes and so forth — all those delightful things."
A graduate of the United States Naval Academy and member of the Democratic party, Carter served as a Georgia State Senator from 1963-67 and was governor of the state from 1971-75. In the 1976 presidential election, he bested incumbent Republican Gerald Ford to become POTUS.
Following his single term in the Oval Office (after which he was succeeded by Ronald Reagan), Carter and his wife founded the Carter Center, a non-profit whose goal is to advance human rights around the world and alleviate human suffering. Two decades after its 1982 launch, Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work with the Center.
"My father was a hero, not only to me but to everyone who believes in peace, human rights, and unselfish love," Chip Carter, the former president's son, said in a statement. "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."
He is survived by his and Rosalynn's four children — the aforementioned Chip as well as Jack, Jeff and Amy — and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.