Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter Turns 94

ATLANTA, GA — Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter turned 94 Wednesday, about a month after she and former President Jimmy Carter celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary.

Eleanor Rosalynn Smith was born Aug. 18, 1927 in Plains, Georgia as the oldest of four children. After her father died when she was just 13, she began working with her mother to make dresses and helped watch her siblings, all while remaining in school.

She graduated as valedictorian from Plains High School and enrolled at Georgia Southwestern College in Americus in 1945, where she met James "Jimmy" Earl Carter, Jr. — a young Navy recruit studying at the U.S. Naval Academy in Maryland.

The couple walked down the aisle a year later on July 7, 1946 at the Plains United Methodist Church — in both Jimmy and Rosalynn's hometown of Plains. They’re now the longest married couple in presidential history.

After Jimmy's service with the Navy, the Carters returned to Plains in 1962 and operated a seed and farm supply company, according to The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library.

Rosalynn was thrust into the public eye once her husband entered politics in 1962, and became First Lady after he won the presidency in 1976. She was the first First Lady to establish an office in the east wing of the White House and have a projects staff, according to The Carter Center.

The former First Lady is known as a leading advocate for mental health, caregivers, early childhood immunization and human rights. Among her accomplishments are the following:

• Created and chairs the Carter Center's Mental Health Task Force.
• Served as an active honorary chair of President Carter's Commission on Mental Health, which resulted in the passage of the Mental Health Systems Act of 1980.
• Served on the Policy Advisory Board of The Atlanta Project from 1991-1999, a program of The Carter Center addressing the social ills associated with poverty and quality of life citywide.
• Serves as president of the board of directors for the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers, which was established in her honor on the campus of her alma mater, Georgia Southwestern State University (formerly Georgia Southwestern College).
• Founded the nonprofit Every Child By Two in 1991, now called Vaccinate Your Family, a nationwide campaign "to protect children from vaccine-preventable diseases by raising awareness of the critical need for timely infant immunizations."
• Advocates for monarch butterfly conservation, inspiring the creation of the Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail, a network of monarch-friendly public and private gardens across the U.S. and beyond.

Rosalynn Carter has also received an array of honors and awards over the years, including Volunteer of the Decade award from the National Mental Health Association; the Georgia Woman of the Year award from the Georgia Commission on Women; and the Presidential Medal of Freedom — America's highest civilian honor. She was also inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1991.

Beyond her professional accomplishments, Rosalynn is also a mother of four with 12 grandchildren (one deceased) and 14 great-grandchildren. According to her Carter Center biography, she enjoys fly fishing, bird watching and swimming in her free time, and serves as a deacon at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains.

Related:

• Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Celebrate 75th Wedding Anniversary
• How To Wish Former President Jimmy Carter A Happy 96th Birthday