Jimmy Carter is poised to be the president who has lived the longest in US history

By Julia Jacobo

Jimmy Carter is now one of the oldest-living former president in U.S. history at 94 years and 171 days old, tying with George H.W. Bush.

Bush, the 41st president, died on Nov. 30, 2018 at 94 years, 171 days old.

Before Thursday, Carter had already set the record for being the former president to live the longest after leaving office, at more than 38 years. Gerald Ford, the 38th president, was the previous record-holder. He died at 93, nearly 30 years after he left office.

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Former President Jimmy Carter smiles during a book signing event in Midtown Manhattan, March 26, 2018, in New York.

Carter, the son of a Georgia peanut farmer, was 52 years old when he was elected as the 39th president in 1976 and is best known as a champion of international human rights both during and after his tenure.

Carter's administration brokered the Camp David Accords between Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in 1978 and saw the start of the Iran hostage crisis as well as the first efforts toward developing an energy independence policy.

Robert Franklin/South Bend Tribune via AP

Former President Jimmy Carter holds hands with his wife, former first lady Rosalynn Carter, as they work with other volunteers on site during the first day of the weeklong Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project, their 35th work project with Habitat for Humanity, Aug. 27, 2018, in Mishawaka, Ind.

Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 after he created the Carter Center to promote human rights worldwide.

In 2015, Carter was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma that was detected in his liver and spread to his brain. About six months after the diagnosis, Carter announced he no longer needed cancer treatment due in part to a groundbreaking medication that trains the immune system to fight cancer tumors.

Sergei Karpukhin/AFP/Getty Images

Former President Jimmy Carter, former UN chief Kofi Annan, former Prime Minister of Norway Gro Harlem Brundtland and other members of the Elders group attend a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Novo-Ogaryovo residence, outside Moscow, on April 29, 2015.

Two years later, he was hospitalized for dehydration while building homes with Habitat for Humanity in Canada. He was back at the work site the next day after he was discharged.

Carter and his wife, former first lady Rosalynn, share four children together.

Editor's Note: This story has been updated to reflect Carter is poised to be the longest-living former president.