NPR

Photos: As Jimmy Carter celebrates his 100th birthday, a look through the decades

By James Doubek

Published October 1, 2024 at 2:06 AM PDT

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Former President Jimmy Carter speaks to the congregation at Maranatha Baptist Church before teaching Sunday school in his hometown of Plains, Ga., in April 2019. He taught Sunday school at the church on a regular basis after leaving the White House in 1981, drawing hundreds of visitors who would arrive hours early to get a seat.

Jimmy Carter is 100 years old.

The 39th president, who has been in home hospice care since February of last year, received birthday wishes from many, including President Biden, as well as a parade in his honor in his birthplace of Plains, Ga. A star-studded celebration of Carter's birthday took place in Atlanta in September.

Carter's grandson Jason Carter told Georgia Public Broadcasting that the former president is constrained in his daily activities, "but he's still emotionally active and he's paying attention to the world and having experiences that ... continue to be rewarding."

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Carter is the longest-living person to serve as U.S. president. NPR gathered photos of notable events from his life and presidency to mark the occasion.

Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin (from left), Carter, and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat begin their second day of peace talks at Camp David, Md., in September 1978. The secret meetings at the presidential retreat resulted in the Camp David Accords, which established a framework for peace between Egypt and Israel.

Sadat (from left), Carter and Begin clasp hands outside the White House on March 26, 1979, as they completed signing of the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel in Washington. Carter's efforts were the first major push by a modern U.S. president to foster peace in the Middle East.

President Jimmy Carter speaks in front of solar panels placed on the West Wing roof of the White House on June 20, 1979. As the U.S. faced an energy crisis in the 1970s, Carter called for Americans to conserve energy and to expand the use of solar power.

Carter speaks to reporters in the Oval Office in April 1980 about the Iran hostage crisis. Student militants stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in November 1979 and held more than 50 staffers hostage for 444 days. The crisis dominated headlines and helped lead to Carter's defeat in the 1980 election.

Carter exits a polling site in October 2005 in Monrovia, Liberia. The Carter Center, founded by Carter and his wife Rosalynn Carter in 1982, monitors elections around the world to promote fair and free voting.

Carter takes notes in December 2004 while listening to a translator during a polling station observation visit in Maputo, Mozambique. The Carter Center says it has monitored 125 elections in 40 countries as of August 2024.

Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter work at a Habitat for Humanity site in Atlanta in 1988, building houses for needy people. They volunteered one week a year with the organization for more than 35 years.

Carter takes part in a Habitat for Humanity project in October 2010 in Washington, D.C.

Carter teaches Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church in November 2019, in Plains, Ga. He regularly taught Sunday school at the church for decades.

Jimmy Carter hugs his wife, Rosalynn, at his Atlanta campaign headquarters in September 1966, when he was a Georgia state senator and running for governor. They were married for 77 years. She died in November. "Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished," he wrote in a statement. "She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it."