Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter Dies at 96

Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter died last Sunday at her Plains, Georgia, home at 96. She was the second oldest first lady ever, after Bess Truman, and her marriage to her husband former President Jimmy Carter was the longest presidential marriage in US history at 77 years.

Carter was born in Plains, Georgia, on August 18, 1927. She started dating her future husband Jimmy in 1945, and they married in 1946. They would have four children together.

Carter became first lady of Georgia in 1971 and first lady of the US in 1977. She took an active role her husband's administration, acting as an adviser and attending cabinet meetings. She was a fierce advocate for mental health reform, both as first lady and during her husband’s post-presidency.

 

JFK Assassination 60 Years Later

Today marks the 60th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy, a pivotal point in 20th century US history.

On November 22, 1963, President Kennedy was riding along with his wife, Jackie Kennedy, and Texas Governor John Connally and his wife, along a Dallas street. At approximately 12:30 PM CST, both Kennedy and Connally were shot by an unseen gunman. Kennedy was struck by a third fatal bullet that shattered part of his skull and pierced his brain, and he would be pronounced dead at 1:00 PM.

While conspiracy theories abound six decades after his death, most recognize Lee Harvey Oswald, a former US marine and Soviet sympathizer, as the shooter who fired the fatal shots. Oswald himself was murdered two days later by nightclub owner Jack Ruby.

His vice president, Lyndon B. Johnson, was sworn in as president soon after, whose presidency ushered in a new era of American politics, including advances in civil rights, racial and geographic party realignment, and massive social welfare programs. Johnson's administration saw increased American involvement in Vietnam and the rise of the 1960s counterculture.

The 'End of Camelot' and 'The Day America Lost Its Innocence' have both been used to describe the day and its effects on the country. Regardless of the possible hyperbole of the latter, his death did mark a transition into a more turbulent era of American history.

Two other notable deaths that occurred that day that were overshadowed by the Kennedy assassination were those of author and academic C.S. Lewis and author Aldous Huxley.