By: History.com Editors

2002

Jimmy Carter wins Nobel Peace Prize

History.com Editors

NORWAY-NOBEL-CARTER

NTB/AFP via Getty Images

Published: November 24, 2009

Last Updated: March 17, 2025

On October 11, 2002, former President Jimmy Carter wins 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.”

Carter, a peanut farmer from Georgia, served one term as U.S. president between 1977 and 1981. One of his key achievements as president was mediating the peace talks between Israel and Egypt in 1978. The Nobel Committee had wanted to give Carter the prize that year for his efforts, along with Anwar Sadat and Menachim Begin, but was prevented from doing so by a technicality—he had not been nominated by the official deadline.

Jimmy Carter

Find out more about Jimmy Carter's life after leaving the Oval Office, including his Nobel Peace Prize win.

After he left office, Carter and his wife Rosalynn created the Atlanta-based Carter Center in 1982 to advance human rights and alleviate human suffering. Since 1984, they have worked with Habitat for Humanity to build homes and raise awareness of homelessness. Among his many accomplishments, Carter has helped to fight disease and improve economic growth in developing nations and has served as an observer at numerous political elections around the world.

The first Nobel Prizes—awards established by Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel (1833-1896) in his will—were handed out in Sweden in 1901 in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine, literature and peace. The Nobel Prize in economics was first awarded in 1969. Carter was the third U.S. president to receive the award, worth $1 million, following Theodore Roosevelt (1906) and Woodrow Wilson (1919). Former president Barack Obama won in 2009.

How Jimmy Carter Brokered a Hard-Won Peace Deal Between Israel and Egypt

The 1978 Camp David Accords secured a lasting peace between two longtime enemies in the Middle East.

By: Jesse Greenspan

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on October 11th

1775

William Howe named commander in chief of British army

General William Howe is named the interim commander in chief of the British army in America on October 11, 1775, replacing Lieutenant General Thomas Gage. He was permanently appointed to the post in April 1776.

1776

Benedict Arnold fights valiantly at Valcour Island

On October 11, 1776, a British fleet under Sir Guy Carleton defeats 15 American gunboats under the command of Brigadier General Benedict Arnold at the Battle of Valcour Island on Lake Champlain, in what is now Clinton County, New York.

1809

Meriwether Lewis dies along the Natchez Trace, Tennessee

On October 11, 1809, the famous explorer Meriwether Lewis dies under mysterious circumstances in the early hours of the morning after stopping for the night at Grinder’s Tavern along the Natchez Trace in Tennessee.

1899

Boer War begins in South Africa

The South African Boer War begins between the British Empire and the Boers of the Transvaal and Orange Free State.

1915

Bulgaria enters World War I

On October 11, 1915, Prime Minister Vasil Radoslavov of Bulgaria issues a statement announcing his country’s entrance into the First World War on the side of the Central Powers.

1962

Pope John XXIII opens Vatican II

Pope John XXIII convenes an ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church—the first in 92 years. In summoning the ecumenical council—a general meeting of the bishops of the church—the pope hoped to bring spiritual rebirth to Catholicism and cultivate greater unity with the other branches of Christianity.

1968

Apollo 7 launched

Apollo 7, the first manned Apollo mission, is launched with astronauts Walter M. Schirra, Jr.; Donn F. Eisele; and Walter Cunningham aboard. Under the command of Schirra, the crew of Apollo 7 conducted an 11-day orbit of Earth, during which the crew transmitted the first live television broadcasts from orbit.

1971

John Lennon’s “Imagine” is released

October 11, 1971 sees the release of John Lennon’s single “Imagine,” one of the most influential songs of the 20 century.

1975

Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham marry

On October 11, 1975, William Jefferson Clinton marries Hillary Rodham in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

1975

“Saturday Night Live” debuts

On October 11, 1975, "Saturday Night Live" (SNL), a topical comedy sketch show featuring Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, Garrett Morris, Jane Curtin and Laraine Newman, makes its debut on NBC. The 90-minute program, which from its inception has been broadcast live from Studio 8H at Rockefeller Center, includes a different guest host and musical act each week. The opening sketch of each show ends with one actor saying, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!”

1975

Bruce Springsteen scores his first pop hit with “Born to Run”

On October 11, 1975, the epic single “Born to Run” became Bruce Springsteen’s first-ever Top 40 hit, marking the start of his eventual transition from little-known cult figure to international superstar.

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Citation Information

Article title
Jimmy Carter wins Nobel Peace Prize
Website Name
History
Date Accessed
March 22, 2025
Publisher
A&E Television Networks
Last Updated
March 17, 2025
Original Published Date
November 24, 2009

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