Jimmy Carter's Life in Photos

The 39th president of the United States was born on October 1, 1924 in rural Georgia, and after serving as president from 1977 to 1981, he and his wife Rosalynn Carter returned to their hometown of Plains, where they have lived ever since.

He didn't want to "capitalize financially on being in the White House," he said in 2018, instead choosing to focus on humanitarian efforts. The former peanut farmer and Navy man shared, "it just never had been my ambition to be rich."

He's been an ex-president longer than anyone else in history; Carter became the oldest living former president in American history on his 95th birthday three years ago, and he makes history every single day. "I think the best explanation for [a long life] is to marry the best spouse: someone who will take care of you and engage and do things to challenge you and keep you alive and interested in life," Carter said in 2019. Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter have been married for 77 years.

Look back on the best photos of him throughout his life.