Do we know Jimmy Carter’s cause of death?

Jimmy Carter, the American president who went from peanut farmer to leader of the free world, has passed away at the age of 100.

Carter, who served as president from Jan. 20, 1977 to Jan. 20, 1981, had been living under hospice care since 2022, which is typically end-of-life care for those with a life expectancy of six months or less, but went on to enjoy a relatively good standard of life for two more years.

In 2015 Carter announced he was suffering from skin cancer that had spread to his brain and liver, but defied that diagnosis by embracing experimental immunotherapy treatments and celebrated his centenary in 2024. Carter’s exact cause of death has not been confirmed, though given his advanced age it will likely simply be “natural causes”.

He was the longest-lived president in United States history and was known just as much for his charity as he was for his difficult time in office.

“My father was a hero, not only to me but to everyone who believes in peace, human rights, and unselfish love,” Carter’s son Chip said in a statement announcing his father’s death. “My brothers, sister, and I shared him with the rest of the world through these common beliefs. The world is our family because of the way he brought people together, and we thank you for honoring his memory by continuing to live these shared beliefs.”

Bill and Hillary Clinton released a statement thanking the former president for his “long, good life,” which was “guided by his faith.” Clinton listed several of Carter’s accomplishments, including protecting “natural resources in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge,” making “energy conservation a national priority,” returning the Panama Canal, securing peace “between Egypt and Israel at Camp David” and “advancing peace, combating disease, and promoting democracy.”

Carter’s time in office was marked by controversy, and he left the presidency as one of the most unpopular of all time. He was defeated in his bid for reelection by Ronald Reagan in 1980. The years have softened that view though, and he’s now viewed more kindly by contemporary historians.

Author Kai Bird, who wrote a book about Carter’s presidency called “The Outlier,” said that most people will remember that Carter “had an admirable post-presidential life filled with good works, but they quickly add that his presidency was a failure,” Bird said. “Historians in recent years would disagree. His presidency was in fact quite consequential.”

Presidents can fall in and out of the favor of history over the decades. Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson were for a long time revered as archetypal presidents, but revelations about slave ownership have tarnished those images. A funeral tends to soften the rougher edges of memory.

Carter is survived by the aforementioned Chip and his other children Jack, Jeff, and Amy. He has 11 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. Carter’s funeral will be the first presidential funeral since George H.W. Bush in 2018 and is expected to be attended by all living presidents.