Below are many interesting personal facts about the 39th President of the United States, Jimmy Carter, courtesy of the Carter Center in Atlanta, GA.

The Basic Facts

• Birthdate: October 1, 1924, 7:00 a.m., in Plains, Georgia.
• Full Name: James Earl Carter, Jr.
• Nickname: Hot
• Years in Office: 1977–1981
• Party: Democrat
• Vice President: Walter F. Mondale
• First Lady: Eleanor Rosalynn Smith
• Children: John, James Earl III, Jeffrey, Amy
• Nickname: Hot
• Fast Fact: The first president born in a hospital.
• Height: 5 feet, 9 1/2 inches tall.
• Eye Color: Blue.
• Hair Color: Light brown/gray.
• Hat Size: 7 (but he doesn't wear hats).

Music

• Music: Likes a wide variety of classical, bluegrass, country, and folk music, including favorites Bob Dylan, Allman Brothers, Paul Simon, and the Marshall Tucker Band. Regularly attends ballet, opera, and symphonic concerts.
• Favorite Hymns: "Amazing Grace," "Blest Be the Tie That Binds," and "The Navy Hymn."

Sports and Hobbies

• Played basketball at Plains High School.
• Ran cross-country and played under-140 lb. football at Annapolis.
• Life-long tennis player (the family had a dirt court on the farm when he was a child).
• Plays softball and billiards, bowls, fishes, hunts (especially wild turkey, quail, and dove).
• Rode a motorcycle before entering politics.
• To keep in shape, rides a bicycle, jogs, and plays tennis.
• Dances with Rosalynn.
• Collects bottles and arrowheads.
• Reads 3 to 4 books a week, and has taken a speed-reading course.
• Has paddled canoes, kayaks, and rafts many times on Georgia rivers.
• Panned for gold successfully in North Georgia.
• Sometimes watches television for recreation.
• Has taken a memory retention course.
• Favorite spectator sport is baseball.

Food and Meals

• Breakfast: Usually orange juice, coffee, fruit, and cereal. Sometimes pancakes.
• Lunch: A sandwich, cup of soup, and small salad.
• Dinner: Varies depending on the occasion.
• Snacks: Fresh fruit.

More Favorites

• Favorite Foods: Sirloin steak, medium rare. Any kind of fish or poultry. Corn bread. Any vegetables except beans. Salad with Roquefort dressing. Frozen yogurt.
• First Car: 1948 Studebaker "Commander." Drove it cross-country in 1948.
• Favorite Color: Blue.
• Favorite Gift to Receive (as a youth): Books.
• Favorite Books: "Let Us Now Praise Famous Men" by James Agee and "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy (considers it to be "one of" his favorite books).
• Favorite Poets: Dylan Thomas, Miller Williams
• Favorite Spots: Cumberland Island, off the southeast Georgia coast (one of his favorite spots).
• North Georgia mountains. Any trout stream.

"Crimes and Punishment" as a Youth

• Stole a penny from the collection plate at church when he was five years old; was punished by his father.
• Shot his sister Gloria "in the rear end" with a BB gun after she threw a wrench at him; was punished by his father.
• Was denied being selected high school class Valedictorian because he played hooky and went to a movie.
• At Annapolis, Midshipman Carter was paddled and hazed for refusing to sing General Sherman's battle hymn, "Marching Through Georgia."

Influential People in Carter's Life

• Rosalynn Carter: "Rosalynn is probably the most influential person in my life."
• Father, James Earl Carter, Sr.: "He was my best friend."
• Mother, Lillian Gordy Carter: "My mother was compassionate, dynamic, humorous, inquisitive in her attitude about life."
• Charles Kirbo: "Going to see Charles Kirbo was probably one of the smartest things I ever did in my life."
• Julia Coleman: The superintendent of the Plains schools, she encouraged him to learn more about music, art and literature.
• Admiral Hyman Rickover: "Hyman Rickover is by any measure a remarkable man."
• President Harry Truman: "Harry Truman is my favorite president and the one I admire most."

Noted Quotes by Philosophers and Poets

The sad duty of politics is to establish justice in a sinful world.
 —  Reinhold Niebuhr

Great is the hand that holds dominion over
Man by a scribbled name.
The five kings count the dead but do not soften
The crusted wound nor stroke the brow;
A hand rules pity as hand rules heaven;
Hands have no tears to flow.
 —  Dylan Thomas

Favorite Bible Quote

Revelation 3:20: Behold I stand at the door and knock: If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.