James Earl Carter, Sr.

'' James Earl Carter Sr. (September 12, 1894 – July 22, 1953) was an American businessman, farmer, and legislator from Plains, Georgia. He was the father of former President of the United States, Jimmy Carter (born 1924), Gloria Carter Spann (1926–1990), Ruth Carter Stapleton (1929–1983), and William Alton "Billy" Carter (1937–1988).

Carter was born in Arlington, Georgia, the son of Nina (Pratt) and William Archibald Carter. In a 1980 address to the Democratic National Committee, Jimmy Carter stated his father continued a trend set by previous generations of the Carter family by not finishing high school. After attending Riverside Military Academy and serving as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army's Quartermaster Corps during World War I, he opened a grocery store on Main Street in Plains, Georgia. He died of pancreatic cancer at age 58. His wife and three of his four children also died of pancreatic cancer.

Carter was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1953, and served briefly until his death later that year. Carter had previously served on the Sumter County, Georgia Board of Education.