Jimmy Carter

:For the submarine, see USS Jimmy Carter (SSN-23).

Early years

Born the oldest of four children to James Earl Carter and Bessie Lillian Gordy in the Southwest Georgia town of Plains, he was the first president born in a hospital. Young Carter was a gifted student from an early age, who always had a fondness for reading. By the time he attended Plains High School, he was also a star in basketball and football. He was greatly influenced by one of his high school teachers, Julia Coleman. Ms. Coleman was handicapped by polio. She had encouraged young Jimmy to read War and Peace; he was disappointed to find that there were no cowboys or Indians in the book. Carter mentioned his beloved teacher in his inaugural address as an example of someone who beat overwhelming odds.

Related Topics:
Bessie Lillian Gordy - Georgia - Plains - Hospital - High school - Teacher - Polio - War and Peace - Cowboy - Indians

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His younger brother, Billy Carter (1937-1988), caused some political problems for him during his administration. Carter's sister, Gloria Carter Spann (1926-1990), was low-key and was famous for collecting and riding Harley-Davidson motorcycles. His youngest sister, Ruth Carter Stapleton (1929-1983), became a well- known Christian evangelist. He grew up in nearby Archery.

Related Topics:
Billy Carter - 1937 - 1988 - Gloria Carter Spann - 1926 - 1990 - Harley-Davidson - Ruth Carter Stapleton - 1929 - 1983 - Christian evangelist - Archery

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He attended Georgia Southwestern College, Georgia Institute of Technology, and he studied nuclear physics at Union College, and received a B.S. degree from the United States Naval Academy in 1946, the same year he married Rosalynn Smith. Carter was a very gifted student, and finished 59th out of his Academy class of 820. Vietnam POW and war hero, Jeremiah Denton, was one of Carter's classmates. They are considered members of the class of 1947, as their class would have graduated in 1947, except that the program had been temporarily compressed.

Related Topics:
Georgia Southwestern College - Georgia Institute of Technology - Union College - United States Naval Academy - 1946 - Vietnam - POW - Jeremiah Denton - 1947

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Carter served on submarines in the Atlantic and Pacific fleets. He was later selected by Admiral Hyman G. Rickover for the U.S. Navy's nuclear submarine program, where he became a qualified nuclear engineer. Rickover was a demanding officer, and Carter was greatly influenced by him. Carter later said that next to his parents, Admiral Rickover had had the greatest influence on him. There was a story he often told of being interviewed by the Admiral. He was asked about his rank in his class at the Naval Academy. Carter said "Sir, I graduated 59th out of a class of 820". Rickover only asked "Did you always do your best?" Carter was forced to admit he had not, and the Admiral asked why. Carter later used this as the theme of his presidential campaign, and as the title of his first book, "Why Not The Best?" He even mentioned Admiral Rickover in his inaugural address. Carter loved the Navy, and had planned to make it his career. His ultimate goal was to become Chief of Naval Operations. Upon the death of his father in 1953, however, Carter resigned from the Navy, and established a peanut farming business in Plains, where he was involved in a farming accident which left him with a permanently bent finger. From a young age, Carter showed a deep commitment to Christianity, serving as a Sunday School teacher throughout his political career. Even as President, Carter prayed several times a day, and professed that Jesus Christ was the driving force in his life. Carter had been greatly influenced by a sermon he had heard as a young man, called, "If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?"

Related Topics:
Submarine - Atlantic - Pacific - Admiral - Hyman G. Rickover - U.S. Navy's - Nuclear submarine - Nuclear engineer - 1953 - Peanut - Farming - Christianity - Sunday School

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After World War II, he and Rosalynn started a family. She bore him three sons (John William, born in 1947; James Earl III, born in 1950; and Donnel Jeffrey, born in 1952), and gave birth to his daughter (Amy Lynn, late in life, in 1967).

Related Topics:
John William - 1950 - 1952 - Amy Lynn - 1967

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