Jimmy Carter celebrated his 100th birthday on Tuesday – the first-ever former US president to reach the century mark.
The celebration was hailed as an extraordinary milestone for the one-time peanut farmer who found his way to the White House.
No longer regularly appearing in public, the Democratic ex-president spent his birthday in the home he and his late wife Rosalynn had built in Plains in the 1960s. Celebrations included a lunch with extended family.
“It’s south Georgia, so you know, we had fried chicken and we had grilled cheese sandwiches, then we had family and lively discussion,” Josh Carter, the ex-president’s grandson, said afterwards.
Carter was also able to watch a flyover of four F-18 jets and several vintage planes that graced the skies over Plains as part of the town’s celebrations. CBS footage showed him being wheeled into his garden among friends and family to view it.
In a video posted on X, Joe Biden, the US president, hailed Carter as a “beloved friend” and “one of the most influential statesmen” in US history, while the White House lawn was decorated with a sign reading “Happy Birthday President Carter”.