Carver, George Washington (1864?-1943), was an African American scientist who won international fame for his agricultural research. He was especially noted for his work with peanuts. Carver made more than 300 products from peanuts, including a milk substitute, face powder, printer’s ink, and soap. He also created more than 75 products from pecans and more than 100 products from sweet potatoes, including flour, shoe polish, and candy. He developed a type of synthetic marble made from wood shavings and many other products.
Carver’s achievements with these crops persuaded many Southern farmers to grow them in place of cotton. This shift provided farmers with new sources of income. Carver also helped promote the interests of Black people and improve race relations.
Early years.
Carver was born into slavery on a farm near Diamond, Missouri. Shortly after Carver’s birth, his father was killed in an accident. His mother was kidnapped, a common occurrence for enslaved people during the American Civil War (1861-1865). The infant was reared by small farmers Moses and Susan Carver, who were slave holders until slavery was abolished in 1865. As a young boy, George showed a keen interest in plants and a great desire to learn. The Carvers taught him to read and write. When he was about 11 years old, he moved to Neosho, Missouri, to attend a school for Black children.
For the next 20 years, Carver worked at various jobs to support himself and pay for his education. In 1890, he entered Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. He showed promise as a painter but decided to pursue a career in agriculture instead. Carver believed such a career would enable him to help African Americans in the South, many of whom worked on farms. In 1891, he transferred to Iowa State Agricultural College (now Iowa State University) in Ames. Carver received a bachelor’s degree in agriculture in 1894 and a master’s degree in 1896.
Tuskegee instructor and researcher.
In 1896, Carver moved to Alabama to join the faculty of the Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University), an industrial and agricultural school for African Americans. Carver became head of the Tuskegee agricultural department and director of a state agricultural station.
At Tuskegee, Carver began to direct his attention toward soil conservation and other ways to improve crop production. He wrote pamphlets and bulletins on applied agriculture and distributed them to farmers in Alabama and other states. Carver also sought to teach more productive agricultural practices to Southern farmers—particularly Black farmers—through conferences, traveling exhibits, demonstrations, and lectures.
In 1910, Carver became head of Tuskegee’s newly created Department of Research. After 1914, he began to focus his research on peanuts. He received national attention in 1921, when he testified before a committee of Congress in support of a tariff (tax) on imported peanuts. He later gave lectures on peanuts throughout much of the country. Carver also worked to improve race relations. He was especially active in his work for the Commission on Inter-Racial Cooperation and the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) .
Carver never married. In 1940, he gave his life savings of $33,000 to the Tuskegee Institute. The money was used to establish there the George Washington Carver Research Foundation for agricultural research. Carver died on Jan. 5, 1943.
Awards and honors.
Carver received many awards for his accomplishments. In 1916, he was named a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts of London. In 1923, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) awarded him the Spingarn Medal for distinguished service in agricultural chemistry. In 1939, Carver received the Theodore Roosevelt Medal for his valuable contributions to science. In 1951, the George Washington Carver National Monument was established on 210 acres (85 hectares) of the Missouri farm where Carver was born.
