Former president Jimmy Carter is setting a major American milestone.
The peanut farmer turned POTUS turns 94 years and 172 days old today, becoming the longest living president in U.S. history.
George H.W. Bush set the record of oldest living president in 2017, a title he held until his death at the age of 94 years and 171 days last November.
While we still think some of you may have jumped the gun (ahem, @AJC, @Wikipedia), we're happy to join in and recognize that President Jimmy Carter has set, or will soon set, the record for being the US's oldest living president. pic.twitter.com/2LcDGi1cpy
— Jimmy Carter Presidential Library (@CarterLibrary) March 21, 2019
In spite of some confusion on the Twitterverse—some outlets mistakenly reported that Carter reached the record age Thursday—the Jimmy Carter Library tweeted that it was “all for getting the party started early.”
@CarterLibrary
Jimmy was born on October 1st, 1924.
On October 31: 30 days
+ November 30
÷December 31
+January 31
+ February 28
+ March 21
= 171 days
Jimmy is 94 years and 171 days young today.
He ties George H.W. Bush.— Awesome Jimmy Team🇺🇸 everything re ❤#JimmyCarter (@peanut_brigade) March 21, 2019
That's OK, we're all for getting the party started early! https://t.co/4HW0YXYS28
— Jimmy Carter Presidential Library (@CarterLibrary) March 21, 2019
Although his tenure as the 39th president of the United States ended in 1981, Carter has continues his humanitarian efforts to this day—winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 and actively building houses for Habitat for Humanity throughout his 90’s.
In spite of getting hospitalized for dehydration in 2017 during a house build in Canada, Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, 91, haven’t slowed down and announced that they will build more houses in New Orleans later this year.
Carter also won his third Grammy for Spoken Word Album in early 2019—an award he’s been nominated for 9 different times.
“He and Mrs. Carter take walks, and they have followed a healthy diet for a lifetime,” Carter Center spokesperson Deanna Congileo told CNN, continuing that they are “both determined to use their influence for as long as they can to make the world a better place, and millions of the world’s poorest people are grateful for their resolve and heart.”
As Habitat for Humanity volunteer and country music star Trisha Yearwood said in a release last year, “the words ‘Carter’ and ‘retire’ aren’t even in the same vocabulary.”
