Washington DC:
Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer who was the 39th President of the United States, died at his home in Plains, Georgia, on Sunday. He was 100. Mr Carter lived longer than any other US president and, after leaving the White House, earned a reputation as a committed humanitarian.
During his single White House term from 1977 to 1981, Mr Carter struggled with a bad economy and the Iran hostage crisis but brokered peace between Israel and Egypt and pioneered renewable energy as a cheaper alternative to foreign oil. But, he became the first Democratic president since 1888 not to win reelection.
However, Mr Carter was widely seen as a better former president than he was a president – a status he readily acknowledged. His decades of dedication to international humanitarian work after leaving the White House earned him a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. He maintained a no-frills lifestyle and would be remembered for his early focus on climate change and concerns about growing divisions in the country.
Here are some facts about this life that may surprise many.
First US President To Have A Hospital Birth
Jimmy Carter speaks to a crowd at a campaign stop in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, September 8, 1976. (Source: Reuters)
Born to Lillian, a registered nurse Lillian and James Earl, a farmer, James Earl Carter Jr. was delivered on October 1, 1924, in a 60-bed hospital in Plains. The event which may seem unremarkable, was in fact historic, as Mr Carter went on to become the first US president who was born in a hospital as nearly all childbirths still took place at home at the time.
Was Exposed To Nuclear Radiation
President Carter, wife Rosalynn and daughter Amy are shown a scale model of the crawler that transported the total shuttle launch configuration to Pad 39 from the Vehicle Assembly Building by NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Director Lee Scherer in 1978. (Source: AFP)
The public life of Jimmy Carter, a peanut farmer-turned-multi-role public servant, began at the US Naval Academy and served in nuclear-powered submarines. Mr Carter joined the Brigade of Midshipmen after a year of study in the NROTC program at Georgia Tech and graduated from the Academy in the top 10th of the class of 1946.
In 1952, when a nuclear reactor exploded in Canada’s Ontario, the US Navy deployed a team, that included Mr Carter, then a 28-year-old lieutenant who had helped develop the first nuclear submarine, to assist Canadian authorities with dismantling its partially melted core, according to a report by the Washington Post.
Dressed in protective gear, Lt Carter reportedly entered the reactor with two other specialists, exposing himself in 89 seconds to the same amount of radiation that the general population absorbs in one year. He later said his urine continued to test positive for radioactivity for six months.
First US President To Be Inaugurated By A Nickname
Former US President Jimmy Carter attends an event on May 9, 2000 at the White House in Washington (Source: AFP)
While taking the oath of office in 1977, Mr Carter used his nickname ‘Jimmy’ instead of his actual first name ‘James’, which he rarely used. He was the first US president to do so. Later presidents including Bill Clinton and Joe Biden also used their nicknames in the White House, but they opted to be sworn in using their full names during their inaugurations.
Made Racially And Gender Diverse Appointments
U.S. President Jimmy Carter departs after the funeral service for former U.S. first lady Rosalynn Carter at Maranatha Baptist Church, in Plains, Georgia, U.S. November 29, 2023. (Source: Reuters)
During his single term in the White House, Jimmy Carter appointed 57 minority judges and 41 female judges to the federal judiciary. This diversity in the appointments was, according to the Carter Center, more than all previous presidents combined. He is credited for appointing the first Black woman to serve in a presidential Cabinet – Patricia Roberts Harris.
Accused Of Kissing The Queen Mother On Lips
US President Jimmy Carter (2nd L) signs the order blocking Iranian funds in US banks, on November 14, 1979 in Washington DC (Source: AFP)
Mr Carter visited Buckingham Palace in 1977 after being sworn in as the 37th US president. Two years after his visit, rumours began circulating in the British press that he had kissed the Queen Mother on the lips. British media considered this a “scandalous” invasion of the Queen mother’s personal space.
However, in his memoir, Mr Carter forcefully denied the account and insisted that his goodnight peck had been delivered lightly and on the Queen Mother’s cheek.
