Former American president Jimmy Carter Jr. was born in 1924 in Plains, Georgia. Long before Carter grew up to become one of the era’s most beloved presidents, philanthropists, and authors, he grew up the son of a general store owner and small businessman. A descendent of one of the nation’s earliest settlers, Carter’s upbringing was modest; both parents worked long hours to make ends meet, and young Jimmy became good friends with a number of impoverished African American children whose parents worked as local farmhands.

As a teenager, Jimmy Carter was given an acre of land by his father, where he grew peanuts and sold them. Carter was also an outstanding student, and so after high school he began his undergraduate studies in engineering at Georgia Southwestern College, then transferred to Georgia Tech. But by 1943, Carter had entered the Naval Academy, where he continued his commitment to excellence, graduating 60th out of 820 midshipmen in 1946.

After leaving the Navy, Jimmy Carter was determined to return to peanut farming and expand the family’s business. He too struggled like his parents, and for awhile lived in housing through public assistance (later becoming the only known president to have lived in subsidized housing.) Eventually, the business became quite successful, though, and by the time Carter became interested in politics, the farm and its success was stable and his family was enjoying a time of relative prosperity.

Carter became a vocal proponent of school integration in the early 1960’s. His desire to see change in Georgia led to his first run for a state Senate seat, which he won. He was re-elected in 1964, and after completing his second term he made his run for Congress; unfortunately the latter endeavor was unsuccessful, but led to his successful run for Governor in 1970, which then led to his successful run for the presidency in 1976.

Jimmy Carter served as the nation’s president for one term, but it is his work after leaving office that has truly made him one of the era’s most cherished public figures. After establishing the Carter Center in 1982, with a singular goal to advance global human rights; he began to travel the world providing assistance in disease prevention and eradication; and he became an active figure for Habitat for Humanity.

Today, Jimmy Carter is the longest-retired president in American history, and still going strong. The author of more than thirty books and the receipient of nearly as many awards and honors, Jimmy Carter may indeed go down in history as the one former president who truly did impact the world greatly, in the more than thirty years after his presidency concluded.

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