On this day in 1924, James Earl Carter was born in Plains, Georgia, making today the 90th birthday of our nation’s 39th president (1977-81) and Georgia’s 76th governor (1971-75).
Foreign policy accomplishments included returning the Panama Canal to Panama, the Camp David Peace Accords between Egypt and Israel, and the SALT II treaty with the Soviet Union. In addition, under his leadership the US normalized diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China.
He also held a series of televised fireside chats in an early effort to bypass media gatekeepers and take his message straight to the people. Media at the time reported on what he wore: a cardigan sweater:
Unlike today’s era of hyper-stylized image consultancy, in which everything a politician wears is scrutinized, Carter simply wore for the taping what he had worn to dinner.
In 1982, he and his wife, Rosalynn, founded the Carter Center, a humanitarian organization devoted to conflict resolution and human rights. Today the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Pollinator Garden was dedicated there; it was created by Trees Atlanta and the De Roode Lab at Emory University.
Carter was awarded the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize; he is the second-oldest of the living US presidents (George H.W. Bush, June 12, 1924; George W. Bush, July 6, 1946; Bill Clinton, August 19, 1946; Barack Obama, August 4, 1961).
- At Age 90, Former President Jimmy Carter is Still Going Strong, VOA
- Former US President Jimmy Carter turns 90, News.com.au
- Happy Birthday, President Carter, Mother Jones (legacy in photos)
- What Jimmy Carter did right, CNN
- American President Speech Archive, Jimmy Carter
Known for gnawing at complex questions like a terrier with a bone. Digital evangelist, writer, teacher. Transplanted Southerner; teach newbies to ride motorcycles. @kegill (Twitter and Mastodon.social); wiredpen.com