Former President Jimmy Carter is set to celebrate his 100th birthday on October 1, making him the first U.S. president to reach the century mark. When James Earl Carter Jr. was born in 1924 in Plains, Ga., there were still 48 states in the U.S., Wheaties cereal had just made its debut on grocery store shelves, President Calvin Coolidge was in office, and Babe Ruth was en route to becoming the MLB’s American League batting champion.
Carter initially embarked on a career as a naval engineer before transitioning into peanut farming. His political journey began when he won his bid for the Georgia state Senate in 1962, later triumphing in the Peach State’s gubernatorial race in 1971.
His successful run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1976 led to a victory against incumbent President Gerald Ford, granting him entry into the White House. However, his tenure as president was marred by economic stagnation and tumultuous foreign policy, exemplified by the Iran hostage crisis that plagued his last year in office. Despite these setbacks, Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his work on the Camp David Accords of 1978, which brought peace between Israel and Egypt.
Carter’s legacy as a former president is complex; he is seen both as disruptive—for instance, his mishandling of efforts to isolate North Korea during the Clinton administration—and as a voice for peace, as demonstrated by his criticism of Israel for being an “apartheid” state. His wife and former First Lady, Rosalynn Carter, passed away less than a year ago at the age of 96.
As Jimmy Carter turns 100 years old, he leaves behind a storied career in both politics and peace-building efforts, forever etched in history as the first U.S. president to reach the century milestone.