Jimmy Carter, the oldest living former U.S. president in history, died today at his home in Plains, Georgia, at the age of 100. Carter served in the U.S. Navy from 1946 to 1953, then returned to Georgia to take up his family’s peanut-farming business. He was elected as Georgia’s 76th governor in 1970, and went on to win his bid for the U.S. presidency in 1976. During Carter’s single term as president, he worked to promote peace in the Middle East and limit the growth of nuclear weapons, and he pushed Congress to create the Department of Energy—but those years were also marked by a national energy crisis, double-digit inflation, and the Iran hostage crisis. After losing to Ronald Reagan in the 1980 presidential election, Carter returned to his modest home in Plains, Georgia, and soon began undertaking diplomatic missions, volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, and teaching Sunday school at his local church. In 2002, Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his lifelong work. Below, a collection of images of Jimmy Carter’s remarkable life of service.
