Rosalynn Carter (1927

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Biography

Eleanor Rosalynn Carter was an American activist and humanitarian who served as the first lady of the United States from 1977 to 1981, as the wife of President Jimmy Carter, from their marriage from 1946 until her death in 2023. Throughout her decades of public service, she was a leading advocate for women's rights and mental health.

Timeline

The story of Rosalynn Carter, told in moments.

1927 Birth

Born Eleanor Rosalynn Smith in Plains, Georgia. Population roughly 600. Her father was a mechanic and bus driver. She graduated valedictorian from Plains High School.

What was growing up in Plains, population 600, like? Did being valedictorian hint at your future ambitions? Was your father's work as a mechanic something you respected or wanted to escape?

1946 Life

Married Jimmy Carter, a Navy midshipman she'd known her whole life. She fell for him after seeing his picture in his Naval Academy uniform. They were married 77 years, the longest presidential marriage in American history.

Was falling for Jimmy's photo in uniform love at first sight? What's the secret to 77 years of marriage? Did the Navy years prepare you for the White House?

1977 Event

Became First Lady. Sat in on Cabinet meetings at the President's invitation. Served as his envoy to Latin American leaders. She had no interest in being decorative.

Why did you insist on sitting in on Cabinet meetings? Was being First Lady limiting or empowering? How did Latin American leaders respond to a woman envoy?

1982 Event

Co-founded the Carter Center with Jimmy. Devoted the next four decades to mental health advocacy, conflict resolution, and Habitat for Humanity builds. She hammered nails well into her 90s.

What drove you to hammer nails for Habitat into your 90s? Was the Carter Center about legacy or unfinished business? Does mental health advocacy feel like your most important work?

2023 Death

Died at home in Plains at 96. She'd been in hospice care. Jimmy survived her by over a year. She was buried in a plain wooden casket, as she'd requested.

Why a plain wooden casket? Was dying at home in Plains what you always wanted? What would you want people to remember about you beyond Jimmy?

In Their Own Words (1)

A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go, but ought to be.

As quoted in Successful Leadership: 8 Essential Principles You Must Know (2007) by Barine Kirimi, p. 165, 2007

Artifacts (15)

Everything to Gain: Making the Most of the Rest of Your Life

Focusing on the Carters' own experiences since leaving the White House, this autobiography offers advice on how Americans can make the most of the second part of their lives

1988

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First Lady from Plains

First Lady from Plains, first published in 1984, is Rosalynn’s Carter’s autobiography, covering her life from her childhood in Plains, Georgia, through her time as First Lady. It is “a readable,...

1994

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Helping Yourself Help Others:: A Book for Caregivers

The former first lady presents a practical handbook on how to care at home for people with chronic health problems, addressing the social issues that have created a crisis in caregiving and offering...

1994

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Everything to Gain: Making the Most of the Rest of Your Life

A dual account of the former president and first lady describes their post-White House careers and highlights such topics as midlife marriage, America's health-care issues, the efforts of the Carter...

1995

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Within Our Reach: Ending the Mental Health Crisis

In Within Our Reach, Rosalynn Carter and coauthors Susan K. Golant and Kathryn E. Cade render an insightful, unsparing assessment of the state of mental health. Mrs. Carter has been deeply invested in...

2010

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Starting from the Bottom: A Poor Persons Guide to Saving

Starting from the Bottom is more than a book about saving. Being poor is a state of mind. My intentions with this book was to provide my experiences. I discuss the journey that I have taken the things...

2020

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Helping Yourself Help Others: A Book for Caregivers

“A practical, highly informative, and sympathetic guide.” —The Washington Post Most of us will become a caregiver at some point in our lives. And we will assume this role for the most personal reason...

2023

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They are shooting Jews in masses. These crimes must not be allowed to continue.

tured by the Red Army, during interrogation on 2 September 1944, Kuhn claimed that Stauffenberg had told him in August 1942 that "They are shooting Jews in masses. These crimes must not be allowed to...

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Helping Someone with Mental Illness: A Compassionate Guide for Family, Friends, and Caregivers

The first thing you need to know is that life isn't over. "The good news," writes Mrs. Carter in Helping Someone with Mental Illness, "is that with proper diagnosis and treatment, the overwhelming...

2011

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It is essential that we begin a systemic colonisation in Poland. But I have no f...

, exploitation and use of Pole slave workers to bring about German prosperity. Stauffenberg himself noted, "It is essential that we begin a systemic colonisation in Poland. But I have no fear that...

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Relief efforts

1979

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First Lady from the Plains

1990

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How to Get what You Want by Changing Your Mind: Finding Life Lessons in Art

2010

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Helping yourself help others by Rodalynn Carter

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Helping Someone with Mental Illness: Learn the Newest Advances in Research and Treatment

1998

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