his father, james earl carter senior, was a farmer and local businessman. his mother, lillian gordon carter gordy carter, was a registered nurse. he was educated in the public schools of plains, attended georgia southwestern college in the georgia institute of technology, and received a bs degree from the united states naval academy in 1946. in the navy, he became a submariner, serving in both the atlantic and pacific fleets and rising to the rank of lieutenant. chosen by admiral hyman rickover for the nuclear submarine program. he was assigned to schenectady, new york, where he took graduate work at union college in reactor technology and nuclear physics, and served as senior officer of the pre-commissioning crew of the seawolf, the second nuclear submarine. on july 7th, 1946, he married rosalynn smith of plains. when his father died in 1953, he resigned his naval commission and returned with his family to georgia. he took over the carter farms, and he and rosalynn operated carter's warehouse, a general purpose seed and farm farm supply company in plains. he quickly became a leader of the community, se