Jimmy Carter, the Navy engineer and former Georgia governor who rose to lead the country through a single, tumultuous presidential term, passed away at the age of 100 on Sunday, at his home in Plains, Georgia. President Carter's death followed the passing of former First Lady Rosalynn Carter on Nov. 19, 2023. President Carter chose to begin receiving hospice care at home in February 2023 after a series of short hospital stays, the Carter Center previously announced.
The White House declared on Monday that Jan. 9 would be designated a National Day of Mourning, and confirmed that the former president would lie in state in the Capital Rotunda from January 7 through January 9. A funeral service will be held at the Washington National Cathedral at 10 a.m. on Jan. 9.
The stock market will close on Jan. 9 to observe the National Day of Mourning for the former leader.
Carter Presidency
Carter's campaigned to his presidency in a country still reeling from the Vietnam War, the Watergate scandal and the resignation of President Richard Nixon. He launched the departments of Energy and of Education. His deregulation of the trucking and telephone industries set in motion of wave of other industry deregulations among following presidents.
But inflation soared in the Carter years, fanned by conflict in the Middle East. Iran, Saudi Arabia and others nationalized their oil operations during the period, seizing U.S. assets and throttling U.S. oil supplies. Carter presided over the 444-day holding of 53 U.S. hostages by college students in Iran supporting the Iranian Revolution. A U.S. military attempt to rescue the hostages failed in April 1980, ending in the deaths of eight U.S. servicemen. The hostages were released on Jan. 20, 1981 — minutes after Ronald Reagan was sworn in as the new U.S. president.
President Carter lived longer than any other president in U.S. history. The former Navy lieutenant, peanut farmer and Georgia state senator, then governor, served as the 39th President from 1977 to 1981. Carter spent much of his retirement supporting charities through the Carter Center and building homes with the non-profit Habitat For Humanity. In 2002, Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize "for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development."
President Carter celebrated his 100th birthday on Oct. 1. He and former first lady Rosalynn Carter were the longest-married presidential couple and celebrated their 77th wedding anniversary on July 7, 2023.
Former First Lady Carter Passes
Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter passed away at age 96 on Nov. 19, 2023.
"Widely recognized as a leading advocate for mental health and caregiving, former First Lady Rosalynn Carter was actively devoted to building a more caring society," The Carter Center wrote.
"Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished," President Carter said at the time. "She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew somebody loved and supported me."
In May 2023, The Carter Center had announced Mrs. Carter was diagnosed with dementia. She began receiving hospice care on Nov. 18, 2023.
Stock Market To Close In Observance
The Carter Center said Sunday that President Carter would lie in state at the Carter Presidential Center in Atlanta from Jan. 4, before being moved to Washington D.C. Afterward, the burial ceremony, in Plains, will be private.
President Joe Biden ordered that U.S. flags be flown at half staff for 30 days at federal buildings and military bases. Both the NYSE and the Nasdaq will remain closed during that day.
It's tradition for U.S. financial markets to close in observance of the National Day of Mourning on the day of the late president's funeral. Previously, the markets closed on Dec. 5, 2018, in observance of Former President George H.W. Bush's passing on Nov. 30, 2018. However, unlike the usual stock market holidays, there can be some scheduling adjustment.
When former President Gerald Ford passed away in late December 2006, the markets closed on Jan. 2, so as to not conflict with the final trading day of the year.
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