October 1

He's the only Georgian to ever be elected president of the United States, Jimmy Carter was born in Plains and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy.

To his wife Rosalynn's dismay, Carter left a promising naval career after his father's death in 1953 and returned to Plains to take over the family peanut business.

Successful but restless, Carter entered politics and won the governors' seat in 1970 on a promise of reform. At that time, governors could only serve one term. So the ambitious Carter set his sights on higher office and shocked the world by narrowly winning the presidency in 1976 in the wake of Watergate.

Carter’s greatest achievement as president was the Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt, but inflation, high interest rates, and the Iranian hostage crisis led to his overwhelming defeat by Ronald Reagan in 1980.

Carter then embarked on a new career: humanitarian. He founded the Carter Center and in 2002 became only the second Georgian to win the Nobel Peace Prize. 

The man who rose from peanut farmer to president to peacemaker was born on October 1, 1924, Today in Georgia History.