Jimmy Carter's 100 Years Includes Ties to New Bedford

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter recently did something that no other American president has done: he celebrated his 100th birthday. He did so at his modest home in Plains, Georgia, where he receives hospice care.

James Earl Carter, Jr. was born in Plains on October 1, 1924. Carter, a Democrat, served one term as president from 1977 to 1981. Before that, he was the 76th Governor of Georgia from 1971 to 1975 and a Georgia state senator from 1963 to 1967.

A U.S. Naval Officer, Carter was a peanut farmer before he entered politics.

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President Carter received the Nobel Peace Prize and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Carter and Rosalynn Smith Carter were married from 1946 until she died in 2023.

Jimmy Carter had some odd connections to New Bedford.

In 1976, while campaigning for the White House, Carter visited New Bedford. He posed for photos in front of the Peanut Shop on William and Purchase Streets downtown.

Scott W. Lang via Facebook; President Jimmy Carter via Facebook

On October 5, 1980, Carter attended a fundraiser in Boston's famed Anthony's Pier 4 Restaurant attended by then-Governor Ed King, Boston Mayor Kevin White and Rep. Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill, Jr., Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. The fundraiser took place in the restaurant's New Bedford Room.

Former Mayor Scott Lang, who has been involved for years in national Democrat Party politics, is another New Bedford connection to Carter.

Years before moving to New Bedford, Lang was a student at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., in November 1973 when he first met Carter. Lang worked for the Democratic National Committee while attending Georgetown and it wasn't until 1976 that Lang began to interact with Carter regularly.

"Carter was campaigning for president a year before he announced his candidacy," Lang said.

He remembered Carter as a "very, very nice guy" who "stuck to a routine."

With Lang's help, Carter won the presidency in 1976 but lost a re-election bid in 1980. Lang backed Carter's Democratic rival Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts in a party primary.

Jimmy Carter through the Years

James Earl Carter, Jr. was born in Plains, Georgia on October 1, 1924.

He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022. He served as the 39th President of the United States from 1977 to 1981. Former President Carter was also the Governor of Georgia and a state senator of his home state.

A graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Carter is also known as the first American president who was born in a hospital.

As a very young man he was enterprising, and started his own businesses early, helping to supplement his family's farm for many years.

His Vice President was Walter Mondale. One of President Carter's first duties in office was to issue Proclamation 4483 on January 21, 1977, pardoning all those who evaded the Vietnam era draft. During his Presidency, the Department of Energy and Department of Education were formed.

He has authored dozens of books. Among them are "Our Endangered Values," "Faith," "An Hour Before Daylight," and "A Full Life."

Since 1946 Jimmy Carter has been married to Eleanor Rosalynn Carter (known as Rosalynn Carter). They have four children: Amy Carter, Donnel Carter, Jack Carter, and James Carter.

Gallery Credit: Kristine Bellino

Filed Under: Jimmy Carter, New Bedford, scott lang

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Jimmy Carter’s 100 Years Includes Ties to New Bedford

Jimmy Carter through the Years