By Bond Robertson 
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The last time Jimmy Carter was seen in public was during his wife Rosalynn's funeral in Plains, Georgia, on November 29 of last year. image: ALEX BRANDON/AP/NTP -
Jimmy Carter with his wife, Rosalynn, in Georgia in 1978. The former First Lady died last November at the age of 96. image: Jim Wells/AP/NTP
Jimmy Carter celebrates his 100th birthday on Tuesday. He is the first American president to live a full century.
Even in the past 19 months of home care in Plains Township, the Georgia Democrat and 39th president has continued to defy expectations.
He did this all his life. Starting out on his family's peanut farm in Georgia, Carter rose through the ranks from peanut farmer to warehouse owner to finally become a celebrated politician on the world stage.
He was President of the United States from 1977 to 1981, then worked for more than four decades with the nonprofit Carter Center, which he and his wife, Rosalynn, co-founded in 1982.
Not everyone gets 100 years on this earth, but when someone gets 100, and uses that time to do a lot of good for others, it's worth celebrating, Jason Carter, Carter's grandson, says in an interview.
House party
The big day features a series of events, including the Carter home in Plains, Georgia, which he and Rosalynn built together in the early 1960s.
Jimmy Carter was born on October 1, 1924, in Plains, the city where he has since spent more than 80 years of his 100 years.
The former first lady, who was also born in Plains, died last November at the age of 96.
On September 17, the Carter Center organized a concert in honor of the former president, an event that raised more than $1.2 million for the organization's work.
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In St. Paul, Minnesota, Habitat for Humanity volunteers celebrated a big Christmas by building 30 homes. The Carters became ambassadors to the international organization after leaving the White House.
Carter survived a cancer diagnosis at age 90, suffered several falls and underwent a hip replacement in his mid-90s, before announcing at age 98 that he wanted to enter hospice care.
Residents of Plains' hometown are planning another concert in honor of the 100-year-old on Tuesday evening.
Carter was last seen in public about a year ago when he attended his wife's funeral in a wheelchair.