Jimmy Carter Is the Nation’s Oldest Living President at Age 99

Former President Jimmy Carter is still alive at the age of 99, and he’s the nation’s longest living president.

Carter’s wife Rosalynn Carter died on November 19, 2023, at the age of 96, shortly after being moved to hospice care, according to a statement from the Carter Center. However, despite receiving hospice care himself starting months before, Jimmy Carter remains alive.

At the time he died in 2018 at age 94, George H.W. Bush was the nation’s oldest living president, and he lived longer than any president in U.S. history. He officially set the record as the nation’s oldest living president ever when he reached 93 years and 166 days. However, Jimmy Carter has passed him on both counts.

Even though he is in hospice care, in September 2023, Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter rode together in a peanut festival in Georgia. “Beautiful day for President & Mrs. Carter to enjoy a ride through the Plains Peanut Festival! And just a week before he turns 99. We’re betting peanut butter ice cream is on the menu for lunch!” the Carter Center wrote on X, sharing a video.

Here’s what you need to know:

Only 6 U.S. Presidents, Including Jimmy Carter, Have Lived Past Age 90

Getty Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter (L) and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter in 2015.

Only five other presidents have lived past 90, and none came close to Jimmy Carter’s 99 years. The other presidents who lived past 90 are Bush (94); Ronald Reagan (93); Gerald Ford (93); Herbert Hoover (90); and John Adams (90), according to POTUS.com. The president who died the youngest, John F. Kennedy, was assassinated at age 46.

Although we think of some of the nation’s earliest presidents as elderly men, some of them died fairly young. George Washington died at the age of 67. Ulysses Grant only lived to 63. Theodore Roosevelt was 60 when he died, and so forth.

The Carters had the longest presidential marriage in history, according to POTUS.com.

According to POTUS.com, “On average presidents are sworn in at 55 years old.” President Joe Biden was the oldest president at inauguration, at age 78, followed by former President Donald Trump at 70.

Three of the nation’s living presidents were born in the same year: 1946. Former President Bill Clinton, President Donald Trump and former President George W. Bush were all born that year.

There are now six living presidents: Trump; George W. Bush; Clinton; Barack Obama; Joe Biden; and Jimmy Carter.

Jimmy Carter, Who Was Born in 1924, Has Survived Serious Health Issued Over the Years

Scott Cunningham/GettyFormer president Jimmy Carter prior to the game between the Atlanta Falcons and the Cincinnati Bengals at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on September 30, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Jimmy Carter began receiving hospice care in February 2023. “After a series of short hospital stays, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter today decided to spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention. He has the full support of his family and his medical team. The Carter family asks for privacy during this time and is grateful for the concern shown by his many admirers,” the Carter Center commented at that time.

According to the Carter Center, Rosalynn Carter joined her husband in hospice care on November 17, 2023, and the family released a statement saying, “She and President Carter are spending time with each other and their family. The Carter family continues to ask for privacy and remains grateful for the outpouring of love and support.”

In May 2023, the family shared that Rosalynn Carter had dementia but was still living at home with her husband.

George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter were born the same year, but Bush was a few months older. Carter was born on October 1, 1924, and Bush was born on June 12, 1924.

Jimmy Carter has had health issues over the years. At age 91, he was treated “for melanoma that had spread from his liver to his brain,” according to Scientific American. However, he then revealed that a brain scan showed no sign of the cancer.

Carter has built houses into his 90s for those in need. In 2017, Carter collapsed in Canada while working on a housing project but said he’s “OK,” according to media reports from that country. He was reportedly dehydrated. “President Carter was dehydrated, working in the hot sun. President Carter told us he’s OK, and is being taken off site for observation. He encourages everyone to stay hydrated and keep building… he’s asked us to continue with our day,” said Jonathan Reckford, Habitat for Humanity CEO at that time, according to WCNC.

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