Press Release | Rosalynn Carter’s 95th Birthday Messages Celebrate Her Historic Impact and Advocacy
Join us as we celebrate U.S. First Lady Rosalynn Carter's special birthday on August 18! We teamed up with the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers to share key milestones and historic achievements of this remarkable woman’s career and life.
momentous work and impact
- Mental health care access
- Caregiver advocacy
- Women’s rights
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Making History
Learn more about Rosalynn Carter’s more than 50 years of mental health work. Check out the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers, founded in 1987.
View below some of our favorite moments and achievements from Mrs. Carter's lifetime of service.
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Happy birthday, Mrs. Carter! Thank you for a lifetime of service that has made a difference in the lives of so many. (Photo: The Carter Center)
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An outspoken advocate for equal rights for women, Rosalynn Carter fiercely supported the Equal Rights Amendment. Here she addresses the National Women’s Conference on November 19, 1977. (Photo: Jimmy Carter Library)
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During more than four decades of public service, Rosalynn Carter has been a driving force for mental health. As active honorary chair of the President's Commission on Mental Health, she presented President Carter with the commission’s recommendations for sweeping reforms to mental health policy and programs on April 27, 1978. The report led to the Mental Health Systems Act of 1980. (Photo: Jimmy Carter Library)
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After the White House, Rosalynn Carter established the Mental Health Program at The Carter Center to fight the stigma against mental illness and improve mental health care. Mrs. Carter joined Betty Ford to testify in the U.S. Senate and speak at the National Press Club on March 7, 1994, calling for comprehensive mental health and substance use insurance benefits. (Photo: The Carter Center)
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Continuing the fight for mental health care, on July 10, 2007, Rosalynn Carter testified before a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee in favor of the Wellstone Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, calling for mental illnesses to be covered by insurance on par with physical illnesses. (Photo: The Carter Center)
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Rosalynn Carter raised tens of millions of dollars to ease the plight of refugees. Here she holds a child at a Cambodian refugee camp in Thailand on November 9, 1979. (Photo: Jimmy Carter Library)
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Dedicated to issues affecting women and children, Rosalynn Carter co-founded Every Child By Two after leaving the White House and traveled nationwide to see that every child received immunizations by age two. This photo was taken in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1993. (Photo: The Carter Center)
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In the last 35 years, Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter have observed dozens of elections, helping to advance democracy worldwide. Here they prepare for poll closing procedures during elections in Monrovia, Liberia, on October 11, 2005. (Photo: The Carter Center)
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The plight of the unsung heroines and heroes who are family and professional caregivers has been another important cause for Rosalynn Carter. To provide support and resources to caregivers, the Institute for Caregivers at Georgia Southwestern State University in Americus, Georgia, was established. (Photo: Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers)
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In recognition of her tireless fight for mental health and unwavering dedication to improving the lives of others, Rosalynn Carter was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 2001, becoming only the third first lady ever inducted, joining Abigail Adams and Eleanor Roosevelt. (Photo: National Women’s Hall of Fame)
Fun Facts
Here are some facts you may not know about Rosalynn Carter:
- Mrs. Carter was the first First Lady to establish an office in the east wing of the White House and have a projects staff.
- The press dubbed Mrs. Carter the "steel magnolia" for her "sweetness and drive."
- As honorary chair of the Last Acts Campaign to improve end-of-life care, Mrs. Carter was an early advocate for the hospice movement and palliative care.
- Mrs. Carter is a seamstress and used to make her daughter Amy's clothes.
- Rosalynn Carter is an advocate for monarch butterfly conservation and inspired the establishment of the Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail, a network of monarch-friendly public and private gardens across the United States and beyond.
- Fly fishing in a remote stream anywhere in the world is one of Mrs. Carter’s favorite things to do.
- Mrs. Carter was a key advocate for passage of legislation during the Carter administration requiring vaccinations for school children.
- Mrs. Carter was valedictorian of her Plains High School graduating class.
- Rosalynn Carter is the sponsor of the last Seawolf submarine, the USS Jimmy Carter.
- Rosalynn Carter learned how to hula in Hawaii during President Carter's time in the U.S. Navy.
- Mrs. Carter was the lead envoy on a U.S. delegation to seven Latin American and Caribbean countries in 1977.