Carter, Rosalynn, 1927-2023

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Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter (b. Eleanor Rosalynn Smith, August 18, 1927, Plains, Georgia-d. November 19, 2023, Plains, Georgia) has worked for more than three decades to improve the quality of life for people around the world. Today, she is an advocate for mental health, caregiving, early childhood immunization, human rights, and conflict resolution through her work at The Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia. The center is a private, nonprofit institution founded by former President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter in 1982.

A full partner with the president in all the center’s activities, the former first lady is a member of The Carter Center Board of Trustees. She created and chairs The Carter Center’s Mental Health Task Force, an advisory body of experts, consumers, and advocates promoting positive change in the mental health field. Each year, she hosts the Rosalynn Carter Symposium on Mental Health Policy, bringing together leaders of the nation’s mental health organizations to address critical issues. Rosalynn Carter emerged as a driving force for mental health when, during the Carter administration, she became active honorary chair of the President’s Commission on Mental Health, which resulted in passage of the Mental Health Systems Act of 1980.

She served on the Policy Advisory Board of The Atlanta Project (TAP), a program of The Carter Center addressing the social ills associated with poverty and quality of life citywide, from the program’s inception in 1991 until its transfer to Georgia State University in 1999. In 1988, she convened with three other former first ladies the “Women and the Constitution” conference at The Carter Center to assess that document’s impact on women. Outside the center, Rosalynn Carter is president of the board of directors for the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving (RCI) at Georgia Southwestern State University, which was established in her honor on the campus of her alma mater in Americus, Georgia. Through research, education, and training, the RCI promotes the mental health and well-being of individuals, families, and professional caregivers; delineates effective caregiving practices; builds public awareness of caregiving needs; and advances public and social policies that enhance caring communities. A mother of four, she has maintained a life long dedication to issues affecting women and children. In 1991, with Betty Bumpers, wife of former U.S. Senator Dale Bumpers of Arkansas, she launched “Every Child By Two,” a nationwide campaign to publicize the need for early childhood immunizations. She also works with Habitat for Humanity, participating in the annual one-week Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project that began in 1984 building homes for the needy, and Project Interconnections, a public/private nonprofit partnership to provide housing for homeless people who are mentally ill. She served as distinguished centennial lecturer at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia, from 1988 1992 and is currently a distinguished fellow at the Emory University Department of Women’s Studies in Atlanta.

Since graduating from Georgia Southwestern College in 1946, Rosalynn Carter has received many honors, among them the Volunteer of the Decade Award from the National Mental Health Association; the Award of Merit for Support of the Equal Rights Amendment from the National Organization for Women; the Notre Dame Award for International Service; the Eleanor Roosevelt Living World Award from Peace Links; the Kiwanis World Service Medal from Kiwanis International Foundation; the Jefferson Award from the American Institute for Public Service; the Georgia Woman of the Year Award from the Georgia Commission on Women; the Rhoda and Bernard Sarnat International Prize in Mental Health from the Institute of Medicine; the United States Surgeon General’s Medallion; and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor. In 2001 she was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame.

She has written five books: her autobiography First Lady from Plains; Everything To Gain: Making the Most of the Rest of Your Life, a book about life after the White House co-authored with President Carter; Helping Yourself Help Others: A Book For Caregivers (with Susan K. Golant); Helping Someone with Mental Illness: A Compassionate Guide for Family, Friends, and Caregivers (with Susan K. Golant), which was selected as the winner of the 1999 American Society of Journalists and Authors Outstanding Book Award in the service category; and Within Our Reach: Ending the Mental Health Crisis (with Susan K. Golant and Kathryn E. Cade). She continues to travel and speak throughout the world, is a deacon at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia, and enjoys fly-fishing, bird-watching, swimming, and biking in her free time.

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Carlos Federico Diaz Alejandro Papers, 1957-1985. Columbia University. Rare Book and Manuscript Library
referencedIn Records of U.S. Air Force Commands, Activities, and Organizations. 1900 - 2003. Moving Images Relating to Military Aviation Activities. 1947 - 1984. 89th MAGP, Andrews AFB, Maryland National Archives at College Park
referencedIn Mondale, Joan. Second Lady's Office Files, 1933-1981 (bulk 1976-1981). Minnesota Historical Society, Division of Archives and Manuscripts
referencedIn Records of the First Lady's Office (Carter Administration). 1977 - 1981. Mary Hoyt's Press Clippings Files Jimmy Carter Library
referencedIn Carter White House Photographs Collection. 1/20/1977 - 1/22/1981. Carter White House Photographs: Presidential. 1/20/1977 - 1/22/1981. Jimmy Carter, Rosalynn Carter, Amy Carter, Carol Channing - White House Staff Halloween party Jimmy Carter Library
referencedIn Joseph Wiley Reid, Sr. papers, 1942-1983.
referencedIn Carter White House Photographs Collection. 1/20/1977 - 1/22/1981. Carter White House Photographs: Presidential. 1/20/1977 - 1/22/1981. Rosalynn Carter - With White House Preservation group and Luciano Pavarotti, Carol Channing Jimmy Carter Library
referencedIn Carter White House Photographs Collection. 1/20/1977 - 1/22/1981. Carter White House Photographs: Presidential. 1/20/1977 - 1/22/1981. Jimmy Carter, Rosalynn Carter, Amy Carter, Carol Channing - White House Staff Halloween party Jimmy Carter Library
referencedIn Records of the First Lady's Office (Carter Administration). 1977 - 1981. Mary Hoyt's State Dinners Files Jimmy Carter Library
referencedIn Villa Maria College of Buffalo (N.Y.). Office of the Vice President for Development. Records, 1961-[ongoing]. Villa Maria College of Buffalo
referencedIn Meyer, Anne Heineman, 1925-. Anne Heineman Meyer papers, 1958-1988 [manuscript]. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
referencedIn Diana Mara Henry Photographic Archive, 2002-081., 1977 Dolph Briscoe Center for American History
referencedIn Second Lady's office files., 1933-1981 (bulk 1976-1981). Minnesota Historical Society
creatorOf Vinyard, Christian,. Papers, ca. 1977-1984. William & Mary Libraries
referencedIn Cyrus R. and Grace Sloane Vance papers, 1919-2005 Yale University. Department of Manuscripts and Archives
referencedIn Records of the First Lady's Office (Carter Administration). 1977 - 1981. Mary Hoyt's Domestic Trips Files Jimmy Carter Library
referencedIn Osborne, Benjamin A., 1898-1986. Papers, 1928-1986 (bulk 1972-1986). Indiana Historical Society Library
referencedIn Cooper, Lorraine Rowan, 1906-1985. Papers, 1936-1983 (inclusive). Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Audiotape collection of the National Women's Conference, 1977 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Vera Zorina papers Harvard Theater Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University
referencedIn Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. 1921 - 2008. "Air Force Now" Program Video Recordings. 1963 - 1992. President Jimmy Carter in Berlin National Archives at College Park
referencedIn Vance, Cyrus R. (Cyrus Roberts), 1917-2002. Cyrus R. Vance and Grace Sloane Vance papers, 1919-2005 (inclusive). Yale University Library
referencedIn Records of the First Lady's Office (Carter Administration). 1977 - 1981. Mary Hoyt's Audio-Visual Files Jimmy Carter Library
creatorOf Faversham, Philip. Philip Faversham papers, 1919-1982. New York Public Library System, NYPL
referencedIn Eldridge mss., 1941-1978 Lilly Library (Indiana University, Bloomington)
referencedIn Records of the Office of the Staff Secretary. 1976 - 1981. Presidential Files. 1977 - 1981. 11/7/79 [1] Jimmy Carter Library
referencedIn Records, 1967-1990 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Erik H. and Joan M. Erikson papers, 1925-1985 (inclusive) 1960-1980 (bulk). Houghton Library
creatorOf Carter, Jimmy, 1924-. Correspondence to Eugene Ormandy, 1978-1980. University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
referencedIn Records of the Office of the National Security Advisor (Carter Administration). 1977 - 1981. Zbigniew Brzezinski's Trip Files Jimmy Carter Library
referencedIn Kenneth H. Thomas, Jr. Papers. 1973 - 2006. Carter Family Genealogical Files Jimmy Carter Library
referencedIn United States. Department of the Treasury. Photographs of U.S. Presidents, Department Officials and Personalities, and Facilities, 1949-1995 National Archives at College Park
referencedIn Philip Faversham papers, 1919-1982 The New York Public Library. Billy Rose Theatre Division.
referencedIn Records of the Office of the Staff Secretary. 1976 - 1981. Presidential Files. 1977 - 1981. 11/13/79 [1] Jimmy Carter Library
referencedIn Papers, 1884-1998 (inclusive), 1929-1988 (bulk) Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Records of the Office of the Staff Secretary. 1976 - 1981. Presidential Files. 1977 - 1981. 8/17/78 Jimmy Carter Library
referencedIn Patricia Harris Papers, 1924-1983, (bulk 1977-1980) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Obama Inaugural Photograph Collection, 2009-197., 2009 Dolph Briscoe Center for American History
referencedIn Villa Maria College of Buffalo (N.Y.). Community services records, 1965-[ongoing]. Villa Maria College of Buffalo
referencedIn Papers of Dorothy Rodgers, 1922-1987 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn VARIETIES OF AMERICAN ENGLISH - REGIONAL DIALECTS (PEKING VERSION) National Archives at College Park
referencedIn Records of the First Lady's Office (Carter Administration). 1977 - 1981. Mary Hoyt's Foreign Trips Files Jimmy Carter Library
referencedIn Records of the Office of the Staff Secretary. 1976 - 1981. Presidential Files. 1977 - 1981. 11/7/79 [2] Jimmy Carter Library
referencedIn Records of the Office of the Staff Secretary. 1976 - 1981. Presidential Files. 1977 - 1981. 8/22/77 [1] Jimmy Carter Library
referencedIn Angier Biddle Duke Papers, 1923-1990s and undated David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library
referencedIn Additional papers of Betty Friedan, 1941-2006 (inclusive), 1980-2000 (bulk) Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Papers, 1936-1983 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
creatorOf Anderson, Marian, 1897-1993. National Public Radio, in cooperation with Young Audiences and the Carnegie Hall Corporation presents a gala concert saluting Marian Anderson on the occasion of her 75th birthday, Feb. 27, 1977 [sound recording]. University of Pennsylvania Library
referencedIn Peterson, Esther, 1906-1997. Papers, 1884-1998 (inclusive), 1929-1998 (bulk). Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Jimmy Carter Library Oral History Collection. 1977 - 1990. Interviews with Rosalyn Carter Jimmy Carter Library
referencedIn Harvard Law School Forums Records Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
creatorOf Ford, Gerald R., 1913-2006. AQS, [n.d.], [s.l.] : a portion of his "Inaugural Address", made after taking the oath of office and assuming the U.S. Presidency, 1974, August, penned on end paper of an Oxford edition of the Holy Bible. Copley Press, J S Copley Library
referencedIn Records of the First Lady's Office (Carter Administration). 1977 - 1981. Mary Hoyt's Press Release and Speeches Files Jimmy Carter Library
referencedIn 10/1/78, Pres. Carter at Kennedy Space Center (T-16141) Jimmy Carter Library
referencedIn Photographs of Peace Corps Activities and Personnel (Contact Sheet File), 1961 - 1990 National Archives at College Park
referencedIn Records of the Office of the Staff Secretary. 1976 - 1981. Presidential Files. 1977 - 1981. 9/20/79 [2] Jimmy Carter Library
referencedIn Audiotapes, 1959-1990 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Carter White House Photographs Collection. 1/20/1977 - 1/22/1981. Carter White House Photographs: Presidential. 1/20/1977 - 1/22/1981. Rosalynn Carter - With White House Preservation group and Carol Channing Jimmy Carter Library
referencedIn John Eldon Thayer collection of motion picture memorabilia, 1916-1979. Harvard Theater Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University
referencedIn Andreĭ Sakharov papers, 1852-2002 (inclusive), 1960-1990 (bulk). Houghton Library
referencedIn Gould, Lewis L. Gubernatorial spouses collection, 1908-1971. University of Texas Libraries
referencedIn Records of the First Lady's Office (Carter Administration). 1977 - 1981. Mary Hoyt's Chronological Files Jimmy Carter Library
referencedIn Bennett, Isaiah, 1926-2002. Isaiah Bennett papers, ca. 1932-2002. College of Charleston, Marlene and Nathan Addlestone Library
referencedIn Records of the Office of the Staff Secretary. 1976 - 1981. Staff Scheduling Memoranda. 1977 - 1978. 6/9/77-6/21/77 Jimmy Carter Library
referencedIn Papers of Charlotte Curtis, (inclusive), (bulk), 1928-1987, 1950-1981 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Bennett, Isaiah, 1926-2002. person
associatedWith Betty Friedan person
parentOf Carter, Amy person
parentOf Carter, Jack, 1947- person
spouseOf Carter, Jimmy, 1924- person
associatedWith Charlotte Curtis, 1928-1987 person
associatedWith Cooper, Lorraine Rowan, 1906-1985. person
associatedWith Díaz Alejandro, Carlos Federico. person
associatedWith Díaz Alejandro, Carlos Federico. person
associatedWith Dorothy (Feiner) Rodgers, 1909- person
associatedWith Duke, Angier Biddle, 1915-1995 person
associatedWith Eldridge, James Anthony, 1920-1978 person
correspondedWith Erikson, Erik H. (Erik Homburger), 1902-1994 person
associatedWith Erikson, Erik H. (Erik Homburger), 1902-1994 person
associatedWith ESTHER (EGGERTSEN) PETERSON, 1906-1997 person
associatedWith ESTHER (EGGERTSEN) PETERSON, 1906-1997 person
associatedWith Faversham, Philip person
associatedWith Faversham, Philip. person
associatedWith Ford, Gerald R., 1913-2006 person
alumnusOrAlumnaOf Georgia Southwestern College corporateBody
correspondedWith Harris, Patricia, 1924-1985 person
correspondedWith Harris, Patricia, 1924-1985. person
correspondedWith Harvard Law School Forum corporateBody
associatedWith Henry, Diana Mara person
associatedWith Kennerly, David Hume person
associatedWith Lorraine (Rowan) Cooper, 1906-1985 person
associatedWith McNeely, Robert person
associatedWith Meyer, Anne Heineman, 1925- person
associatedWith Mondale, Joan. person
associatedWith Mondale, Joan. person
associatedWith National Women's Conference corporateBody
associatedWith Naythons, Matthew person
associatedWith Osborne, Benjamin A., 1898-1986. person
associatedWith Peterson, Esther, 1906-1997. person
associatedWith Rodgers, Dorothy F., 1909- person
associatedWith Sakharov, Andreĭ, 1921-1989 person
associatedWith Thayer, John Eldon, 1899-1980 person
associatedWith Vance, Cyrus R. (Cyrus Roberts), 1917-2002 person
associatedWith Vance, Cyrus R. (Cyrus Roberts), 1917-2002. person
associatedWith Vance, Grace Sloane, 1918- person
associatedWith Villa Maria College of Buffalo (N.Y.) corporateBody
associatedWith Villa Maria College of Buffalo (N.Y.). Office of the Vice President for Development. corporateBody
associatedWith Vinyard, Christian, person
correspondedWith Women's Equity Action League corporateBody
associatedWith Zorina, Vera. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Plains GA US
Plains GA US
Subject
First ladies
Occupation
Activity

Person

Active 1977

Active 1984

Birth 1927-08-18

Birth 1927

Female

Americans

English

Information

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SNAC ID: 87983946