Jimmy Carter is preparing to celebrate his 100th birthday on Tuesday, the first time an American president has lived a full century and the latest milestone in a life that took the son of a Depression-era farmer to the White House and across the world as a Nobel Peace Prize-winning humanitarian and advocate for democracy.

“The Carters have a lot of milestones,” said Jill Stuckey, a Plains resident and superintendent of the Jimmy Carter National Historical Park. “They were the longest-married presidential couple at 77 1/2 years, and now he is the longest-living U.S. president.”