James Earl Carter Jr., the nation’s oldest living president, died Saturday, December 29, in Plains, Georgia. He was the nation’s 39th president, serving from 1971 to 1975. President Carter was 100 years old.

He was preceded in death by Eleanor Rosalynn Carter, who died November 19, 2023. Mrs Carter was an American writer, activist, and humanitarian. 

In 1978, Muhammad Anwar es-Sadat, president of Egypt, and Menachem Begin, Prime Minister of Israel, signed a peace treaty in cooperation with President Carter, for which they were recognized with the Nobel Peace Prize.

President Carter’s biggest failure which cost him the presidential election against Governor Ronald Reagan was when Carter sent helicopters to rescue Americans captured by Iran. One of the rescue helicopters crashed during a dust storm. President Carter called off the rescue. 

Ayatollah Khomeini, the supreme commander of Iran, allowed 13 female and African American hostages to be freed, citing the Islamic duty not to hold women and trying to cause a split in American public opinion by appealing to Black radicalism in the United States. 

Black men were released by the Iranians who apologized for how badly White Americans treated them. 

The hostages were held by students for 444 days before all of them were released.

President Carter was born on October 1, 1924. 

He was an American politician and humanitarian who served as a member of the Democratic Party and was considered to be the strongest and most consequential former president in American history.

He has written more than 10 books and he has a foundation.

He served from 1963 to 1967 in the Georgia State Senate and from 1971 to 1975 as the 76th governor of Georgia.