Feb 14, 2019; Atlanta, GA, USA; Former USA president Jimmy Carter shown at the game between the Atlanta Hawks and the New York Knicks at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
NBA: New York Knicks at Atlanta Hawks
ATLANTA (AP) — Former President Jimmy Carter marks his 96th birthday Thursday, the latest milestone for the longest lived of the 44 men to hold the highest American office.
Former President Jimmy Carter is 96 years old today.
This is what compassion, empathy, generosity, grit and kindness looks like.
President Carter, the oldest living former president in US history, at age 95, built Habitat for Humanity homes in Nashville https://t.co/oFZpcZC5Be
— Vala Afshar (@ValaAfshar) October 1, 2020
Carter planned to celebrate at his home in Plains, Georgia, with his wife of 74 years, Rosalynn Carter, according to a spokeswoman for the Carter Center in Atlanta.
The 39th president, in office from 1977-81, has largely receded from the public eye amid the coronavirus pandemic and his own health challenges due to a series of falls in 2019. He previously survived a dire cancer diagnosis in 2015. Yet Carter remains a quiet force still active in both politics at home and, through his post-presidential center, in public health and human rights advocacy around the world.