U.S. PresidentJimmy Carterdied today, Jun 11, 2025, at the age of 100, making him the longest-living President (and a man who even outlived one of his obituary writers). He passed away at his home in Plains, Georgia, around 3:45pm ET, according to his son, James E. Carter (known as Chip). Plains was a formative part of Carter’s life and career — the great documentary about Jimmy Carter (directed by Jonathan DemmeofSilence of the LambsandStop Making Sense fame) was even calledMan from Plains, which focused on Carter’s book tour supportingPalestine: Peace Not Apartheid, one of many pro-peace campaigns that the Nobel Peace Prize winner fought for throughout his life. you may watch that excellent 2007documentary for freethrough the link below:
Watch Man from Plains
As the documentary shows, Jimmy Carter was practically the mascot of an all-American small-town life. He was born in Plains, which in 1924 had a population of just 600 people. He met his future wife at the Naval Academy he attended, and was married to Rosalynn Smith in 1946; they would stay married for 77 years, until her death in November 2023. Carter stayed in the Navy until 1953, when his father developed pancreatic cancer. He returned to Plains and took over the Carter peanut business. Things were tough; he and his family lived in public housing, and barely broke even after their first year of farming, but Carter would go on to build a successful farming business.
Inspired by the Civil Rights movement, Carter served as a Democratic State Senator in Georgia before becoming Georgia’s governor between 1971 and 1975. He then quickly became the 39th President of the United States, serving that position from 1977 to 1981. Another interesting documentary,Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President, details Carter’s involvement with folk and rock music, and how the support of popular musicians helped him get elected President. The film features George Allman, Bono, Garth Brooks, Jimmy Buffett, Rosanne Cash, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Paul Simon, and other musicians. Its synopsis reads as follows:
“If it hadn’t been for a bottle of scotch and a late-night visit from musician Gregg Allman, Jimmy Carter might never have been elected the 39th President of the United States. The documentary charts the mostly forgotten story of how Carter, a lover of all types of music, forged a tight bond with musicians Willie Nelson, the Allman Brothers, Bob Dylan and others. Low on campaign funds and lacking in name recognition, Carter relied on support from these artists to give him a crucial boost in the Democratic primaries. Once Carter was elected, the musicians became frequent guests in the White House.”
Jimmy Carter Did More Good as a Citizen Than a President
Unlike most Presidents, Carter arguably contributed more positively to the world as a citizen than he did in office (especially considering that, as President, he increased the flow of weapons to the Indonesian Army to support its genocide). He traveled the world on both diplomatic and humanitarian missions, becoming famous for building houses for people around the world. You can see him at work in the video below (where he does charity woodwork despite having a black eye from a recent fall):
He developed the Carter Foundation, which became one of the best non-profit organizations to come out of America. The foundation has worked ceaselessly in a variety of forms — election observation to ensure fair democratic elections; conflict mediation and hostage negotiation and release; disease eradication and control; the training of public health workers; reducing the stigma of mental illness; funding and strengthening agricultural production; working for a free Palestine. While Carter was in hospice for the last year of his life, he was busy working on humanitarian efforts well into his 90s.
This Future US President Was Introduced to the Country on a Game Show
Long before he became president, Jimmy Carter was first introduced to the nation on the classic game show What’s My Line?
Jimmy Carter’s Speech at the Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony
President Jimmy Carter will be dearly missed. If you’d like to know more about him, we recommend watching the aforementioned film,Man from Plains, and you may read some of his acceptancespeech for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002below:
“At the beginning of this new millennium I was asked to discuss, here in Oslo, the greatest challenge that the world faces. Among all the possible choices, I decided that the most serious and universal problem is the growing chasm between the richest and poorest people on earth. Citizens of the 10 wealthiest countries are now seventy-five times richer than those who live in the 10 poorest ones, and the separation is increasing every year, not only between nations but also within them. The results of this disparity are root causes of most of the world’s unresolved problems, including starvation, illiteracy, environmental degradation, violent conflict, and unnecessary illnesses that range from Guinea worm to HIV/AIDS.
“Most work of The Carter Center is in remote villages in the poorest nations of Africa, and there I have witnessed the capacity of destitute people to persevere under heartbreaking conditions. I have come to admire their judgment and wisdom, their courage and faith, and their awesome accomplishments when given a chance to use their innate abilities.
“But tragically, in the industrialized world there is a terrible absence of understanding or concern about those who are enduring lives of despair and hopelessness. We have not yet made the commitment to share with others an appreciable part of our excessive wealth. This is a potentially rewarding burden that we should all be willing to assume.
“Ladies and gentlemen, war may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good. We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other’s children.
“The bond of our common humanity is stronger than the divisiveness of our fears and prejudices. God gives us the capacity for choice. We can choose to alleviate suffering. We can choose to work together for peace. We can make these changes – and we must.
“Thank you.”
